After nearly three decades together, Akon's wife, Tomeka Thiam, is officially moving to end their marriage.
According to newly filed court documents obtained by TMZ, Thiam said she and the singer were legally married on September 15, 1996, while making it clear in the filing that she is the mother of one of his children, a 17-year-old. In the past, Akon has often been vague in interviews about how many "wives" he has had.
Thiam is requesting joint legal custody of their child, but she's asking the court to grant her physical custody. She's also seeking spousal support and wants to ensure that Akon is not awarded any spousal support in return. As of press time, Akon has not responded publicly to the divorce filing.
The split comes after years of public speculation surrounding Akon's personal life, particularly regarding his views on polygamy and relationships. Even though the artist has frequently sidestepped direct answers about how many wives he has, Thiam has been one of his most publicly known partners.
While he's dealing with divorce proceedings, Akon is also working on developing his controversial Akon City in his home country of Senegal. The long-doomed project was reportedly called off over the summer, but Akon revealed in an interview with TMZ that there is a lot of "misinformation" about his project.
"Well, what I can tell you is the Akon City project is under attack," he said. "The impact that it's gonna do for Africa is kind of shaking up a lot of agendas, so you're gonna see a lot of misinformation on the internet. I would advise that you know that it's untrue. … It's not gonna stop. It's continuing."
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