Usher's wife says she was surprised by divorce
By ERRIN HAINES, AP
20 hours ago

ATLANTA - The wife of R&B singer Usher was surprised when the entertainer filed for divorce earlier this month and claims the two were intimate less than a week before he moved to end the marriage, according to court documents.

Tameka Raymond, 38, disputes Usher's claims the couple have been separated since July 2008. She said in court documents filed Monday in Fulton County Superior Court that she "had every reason to believe her marriage was intact" and that two were "intimately together as husband and wife as recently as June 6."

Usher, whose real name is Usher Raymond IV, filed for divorce June 12, claiming there is "no reasonable hope of reconciliation" and the marriage is "irretrievably broken." He is seeking joint custody of the couple's two sons, 1 1/2-year-old Usher Raymond V and 6-month-old Naviyd Ely Raymond.

Tameka Raymond has three children from a previous marriage. She said through her divorce attorney, Randy Kessler, that she has been a faithful wife and loving mother during the marriage.

In Monday's filing, Tameka Raymond asked a judge to ensure that Usher continues to support his family while the divorce works its way through the courts, including paying her legal fees.

The couple married in August 2007 in a lavish ceremony. About 200 people attended their wedding at resort built in the style of a 16th-century-style French chateau on 3,500 hilly acres outside Atlanta.

A call to Usher's divorce lawyer was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Before the two married, Usher had a string of romances, most notably his three-year relationship with Chilli from the group TLC.

The Grammy-winning artist's hits include "Confessions," "Burn," "You Make Me Wanna" and "Yeah!"

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Well if she's so surprised by it, then why isn't she fighting the divorce???

I'm saying! Why isn't she fighting the divorce then if she claims the couple was still intimate? Don't make sense.

How does one fight a divorce anyway?

Cinnie said:

She could contest it if she wanted to. I don't know the exact proceedings on how to go about doing it, but she does have that right.

Timmy84 said:

Maybe she feels like fighting for his money would be worth more than saving the marriage...?????

missfee said:

Sounds like it to me too. That's why people are branding her a "gold-digger" now.
[Edited 7/1/09 10:40am]

missfee said:

That's mad recent

well, apparently Usher is doubting if he is the father of their 2nd child, and is having a paternity test done. Get rid of her!!!!

kenlacam said:

Get out of here, lol.

She knew what was going on.
Why was she in South America by herself??? And almost died.
She knew cuz she was doing whatever it took to keep him around.
Including plastic surgery….

kenlacam said:

oh damn, for real???

missfee said:

As a divorcee, I can tell you that if a man indicates he's not feeling you or vice versa, people generally don't want to hold onto someone who has made it socially, finacially and legally clear that they do not want you...I say f**k the intimacy; it was clearly a deception on his part. If a spouse didn't honor another's body enough to not drag them through the mud with unexpected court proceedings, what is there to contest, really? Should a person try to force a person to remain in a marriage that they do not want? What does one do? Hold onto a spouse by way of a forced legal shackle? There are some times when a person has to simply get out, start over, and simply rebuild (even though it sucks).

Timmy84 said:

What maybe happening is lil' divorce/legal gamesmanship by either or both parties: The length of a marriage determines how long the receiving spouse should get alimony. In most instances it's the party who files papers for divorce who claim they've been "separated" longer than their spouse recalls. That's neither here or there because in most States now, if you don't file papers for a legal separation it's a moot point.

It maybe she was caught of guard, he knew he was leaving and he kept his plans to himself. Maybe he didn't want to cause a ruckus, this happens all the time. Whatcha bet Usher's lawyer(s) or the man in the little green car told her, she was getting a divorce and not he?

Cinnie said:

She can refuse to sign the divorce papers. I know more than one person who has done this. The divorce usually goes through eventually though because the two parties get tired of fighting the inevitable or it gets expensive with all those court costs and lawyer's fees.

Instead of buying a ring, paying for the wedding (and probably the honeymoon), and allowing this heffa to use his credit cards and taking care of her, he should have been smart, not married her, and just paid her to carry his babies like a surrogate; so, for him being a fucktard, I hope she takes his dumbass to the cleaners. Of course, I don't really see the point in marriage to begin with so my views on the subject may be a little biased. Why you need a piece of paper to greenlight who you choose to spend the rest of your life with is still beyond my understanding. I just don't get the huge thrill behind marriage and especially behind weddings, but that's just my own personal beliefs.

Really, I don't know why she would fight a divorce unless she's holding out for more alimony. She's got two kids (or one if the other one turns out not to be Usher's) so she'll be getting some mad dough from him regardless, unless she pulls a Britney and loses custody. Usher could get custody because he's the bigger breadwinner, but could also not get custody because he travels alot and in the majority of custody cases the mother is considered before the father for some reason.

She was surprised? At least he didn't a text or a twitter with the words, 'I'm filing for divorce', like Britney did to K-Fed...now that was a surprise and pretty damn funny too.

kenlacam said:

I doubt Tameka would be a fool to cheat without protection and jack up her funds! That little uh never mind, looks just like Usher...

estelle81 said:

While I don't agree on your personal view of marriage (you're entitled to your opinion), I do agree with what you said regarding Usher being a "fucktard" asshole. She should milk him for whatever he can, he's the idiot. He fell for her back up plan right from the start. All the red flags for him to not marry her were there, but he ignored them, so he has to literally PAY the consequences.
[Edited 7/6/09 7:19am]

Sounds like this could get ugly.

Why was she surprised? Most people saw it coming from the day they got married!!

Dayclear said:

Well, who but those two actually knows the true dynamics of their marriage.

But this is just the sort of thing I imagine someone says to the press before engaging in a nasty, public divorce -- especially if they're the "wronged party."

Timmy84 said:

Why would you fight to stay with someone who has clearly indicated that they no longer want to be with you?
"Don't make me chase you/ Even doves have pride."

missfee said:

And what, make him stay married?
Contesting a divorce is usually contesting how assets are declared and divided, not whether or not to stay married.

Dayclear said:

Sadly, yes.

ThreadBare said:

Well all my friends thought it wouldn't last two years. And here we are.

SUPRMAN said:

well either way, she will be getting a big chunk of it, guaranteed.

missfee said:

Not like she earned it.

SUPRMAN said:

She put in 18 months of swollen ankles, morning sickness, and back pain and then some sweaty screaming and labor agony for him. I think she earned a little bit of something for that. He should have taken the cue from his mama who didn't even go to the wedding or approve of the relationship to begin with. Mother knows best they say.

missfee said:

I could see this coming when he announced his engagement to this chick. If he wants to be dumb, let him do it on his own time. Now, Curious George, go and pay the woman.