Chance the Rapper and wife Kirsten Corley are divorcing after 5 years of marriage

Kirsten Corley, left, and Chance the Rapper attend the 2021 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue /TNS)

By Eva Hartman, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — The music industry just lost another power couple.

Chance the Rapper and his wife, Kirsten Corley, announced that they will officially “part ways” through a joint statement posted to their Instagram stories Wednesday.

The announcement follows a year of speculation surrounding their potential marriage troubles after the artist was recorded last April dancing with another woman at his birthday celebration in Jamaica. He posted a Bill Burr stand-up clip about the difficulties of marriage to his Instagram story in response, while Corley posted a Maya Angelou quote that read, “Most people don’t grow up. It’s too damn difficult.”

Representatives for the rapper did not respond immediately Wednesday to The Times’ request for additional comment.

Chance the Rapper — whose real name is Chancellor Johnathan Bennett — first met Corley, an influencer and model, at his mother’s office party when he was 9 years old, after seeing her lip sync to Destiny’s Child’s “Independent Women Part 1.” She was “the prettiest girl I’d ever seen,” he recalled in a series of tweets before their 2019 Newport Beach wedding.

Bennett and Corley lost touch as they grew up but reconnected in 2012 at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. They welcomed their first daughter, Kensli, in 2015, followed by their second, Marli, in 2019.

The two said they remain committed to co-parenting despite their separation. “God has blessed us with two beautiful girls who we will continue to raise together,” they said.

“We kindly ask for privacy and respect as we navigate this transition.”

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