Usher and estranged wife Grace Miguel are making their divorce official after the singer filed papers with a divorce court in Atlanta. TMZ reports that the couple, who married in 2015 and split a year ago, have mutually decided to officially separate and just need a judge to sign off on things.
According to documents obtained by the Blast , Usher Raymond filed for divorce in Georgia using the same attorney he did in his split from his previous wife, Tameka Foster.
The pair began dating in 2009 and secretly married in 2015. She worked as Usher’s manager for several years. In December, 2017, according to the court documents, the pair decided to separate, but chose not to make things official at that point. In March, the couple announced that they had separated.
“After much thought and consideration, we have mutually decided to separate as a couple. We remain deeply connected, loving friends who will continue supporting each other through the next phases of our lives,” a statement from the estranged couple reads. “The enormous amount of love and respect that we have for each other will only increase as we move forward.”
In an interview with Billboard in 2014, Usher raved about Miguel, saying that he spent his free time with her and that she had been invaluable in helping him through some tough times. He said that he’d become “that guy,” whose life has become a vacation with the person he loves.
“I have an incredible partner and manager. She has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life and my career. She’s someone who’s been able to support and understand all of who I am,” he said.
The move comes just months after things heated up in the lawsuits between Usher and three alleged victims who claim that the 40-year-old knowingly gave them the herpes virus.
In the summer of 2017, Usher was sued for $10 million after a woman claimed that he slept with her without using protection or warning her that he carried the herpes virus. Two other people, a woman, and a man, came forward claiming that they were similarly exposed. In November, one of the lawsuits was dropped. In June, Usher asked the court to dismiss another one of the lawsuits, saying that the woman knew about the risks of unprotected sex.
A sourced told TMZ that Miguel wasn’t worried about the allegations when they first came to light. Though the couple has not opened up about what split them apart, it’s possible that the issues related to the lawsuits could have contributed to their dissatisfaction.