Britney Spears filed for divorce Tuesday from rapper-dancer Kevin Federline, officials said.
The Los Angeles County Superior Court filing cites “irreconcilable differences,” said court spokeswoman Kathy Roberts.
Her petition asks for legal and physical custody of their two sons, one-year-old Sean Preston and two-month-old Jayden James.
In the divorce papers, which do not mention a prenuptial agreement, Spears asks for custody of the couple’s two children, with visitation rights for Federline. The filing lists as separate property, and thereby off-limits to Federline, “miscellaneous jewelry and other personal affects,” earnings and other assets to be determined later.
Spears’ declaration that she and Federline had no community assets indicate the pair had a prenuptial agreement and don’t want to disclose to the court their divorce settlement, said Leon Bennett, a divorce attorney.
The filing also stated the marriage occurred Oct. 6, 2004, a few weeks after a widely covered wedding ceremony.
Federline at the time explained the two ceremonies by saying that the couple had moved the wedding date up to throw off the media, but doing so did not give their lawyers time to finish their prenup.
A message left with Spears’ attorney, Laura Wasser, was not immediately returned.
The date of separation is listed as Monday, the same day she showed off her post-pregnancy body during a surprise appearance on “Late Show with David Letterman.”
Spears, 24, married Federline, 28, in September 2004. Rumors of marriage woes have dogged the couple almost from the start.
Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, issued a statement declining comment.
“There is no statement at this time as requested by Mark’s client, Kevin Federline,” said Michael Sands, spokesman for Kaplan.
But in an interview with The Associated Press two weeks ago, Federline had nothing but praise for Spears.
“Her influence on me has been really big,” he told the AP. “She’s a strong woman and she knows what she wants out of life and that helps build a strong man. I look up to you baby.”
Report: Magazine told Federline?
Life & Style Weekly is reporting that Federline didn't know about Spears' decision to file for divorce, saying that it was representatives from the magazine who broke the news to Federline's representatives. The magazine reports that as recently as Monday, Federline was talking about the couple's future together.
The magazine quotes "a friend of Kevin's" as saying "They fought all week [on a recent trip to] New York. They slept in separate hotels. Everyone knew about the fighting. No one knew about the divorce. Not even Kevin. It's very possible he was flying when she filed!"
An upcoming issue of In Touch Weekly reports that Spears' decision to file for divorce came after a weekend of conflict between the two in which both parties stood each other up. The magazine reports that Spears was seen crying alone at a table in New York's Regency Hotel on Nov. 2 when Federline did not appear for a scheduled dinner.
The magazine goes on to report that Spears "paid him back" the following night by skipping the concert launching his musical tour, at which she was scheduled to introduce him. According to the magazine, "when the DJ played [Spears'] song ‘Slave 4 U,’ Kevin made a slashing motion across his throat, telling him to cut it off."
Rap record called ‘reprehensible’
Federline recently released his debut rap CD, "Playing With Fire," in which he raps about his rise from obscurity in Fresno, Calif. to his life of privilege as Spears' husband.
Ron Harris of the Associated Press called it a "credible, entertaining debut," but other critics were not so kind. Rolling Stone's Kevin O'Donnell called it "reprehensible" and a "tragicomedy"; Entertainment Weekly's Chris Willman awarded the CD an "F" grade and called it "a concept album about squandering Britney Spears' fortune."
On Monday, a judge threw out Spears' libel suit against celebrity magazine Us Weekly. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Hart Cole ruled that the pop star cannot be defamed by published rumors that she and Federline had made a sex tape and were worried about its release.
This was Spears' second marriage. She wed childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander in January 2004 in Las Vegas. That marriage lasted 55 hours.
Federline has two other children with former girlfriend Shar Jackson. She was pregnant with their second child when Federline wed Spears.