Kris Humphries filed for legal separation and an annulment from estranged wife Kim Kardashian in Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, his rep confirms. Sources say Humphries declared the reason for the annulment as “fraud” and listed the date of separation as Oct. 31, the same date Kardashian filed for divorce from him.
Legal experts predict that Kardashian and Humphries are heading toward a bitter court battle. For Humphries to be granted an annulment, he will have to prove that he was defrauded and that no valid marriage took place between he and Kardashian, despite the four-hour wedding special that aired on E! just weeks before the couple split.
KRIS HUMPHRIES TO SEEK ANNULMENT
Sources close to Humphries told TMZ today that he believes he was a pawn in the Kardashian fame game.
“He feels like he was just slotted in the plot line of Kim Kardashian’s latest headline and newest business venture,” says one source.
Another furthers, “Once they were finished taping, she just didn’t need a groom anymore.”
But Kardashian is unlikely to agree to those interpretations of her marriage, and is likely to refute the charge of fraud, as she has held that her love for Humphries was real.
In an oft-teased clip from an upcoming episode of “Kourtney & Kim Take New York,” Kardashian breaks down in tears while talking to sister Kourtney, saying, “He fell in love with me and I fell in love with him, and now my feelings have changed. … I failed at this. You don’t think I feel bad?”
And in a blog post about her decision to file for divorce, Kardashian explained, “I want a family and babies and a real life so badly that maybe I rushed in to something too soon. I felt like I was on a fast roller coaster and couldn’t get off when now I know I probably should have.”
Legal experts say that annulments are difficult to obtain. If Humphries is not granted an annulment, he is pushing for a legal separation. Sources say that because of his respect for the institution of marriage and his religious upbringing, he does not want a divorce, which Kardashian has filed for, under any under circumstances.
Humphries’ rep has yet to comment on Humphries’ citing fraud in his filing. But he did shoot down a Star magazine report that the reason for the split was because the NBA player is gay. His rep called the story “completely false and ridiculous. He is not gay.”