Actor Eddie Murphy’s wife of 12 years, Nicole, filed for divorce from the star Friday, his publicist said.
No further details were disclosed. Murphy, 44, issued a statement saying, “The welfare of our children is our main concern, and their best interests are our first priority.”
The “Saturday Night Live” alumnus and star of such films as “Beverly Hills Cop” and remakes of “Dr. Dolittle” and “The Nutty Professor” has five children with the former Nicole Mitchell, a model, whom he married in March 1993.
Murphy also has a son from a previous relationship.
News of the divorce filing was first reported by the syndicated TV show “Access Hollywood.”
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Celebrity Sightings
Murphy made headlines in 1997 when the car he was driving was stopped by undercover sheriff’s deputies in Los Angeles after he had picked up a transvestite suspected of prostitution.
Murphy, who was not arrested, said then he had been out for a late-night drive and had merely offered to give the individual he thought was a woman a ride home.