Tomeka Thiam, Akon's wife, has filed for divorce after almost 29 years of marriage.
Tomeka Thiam and Akon will be parting ways. As per to court documents obtained by Billboard on September 12, the wife of the "Smack That" singer filed for divorce three days prior to their 29th wedding anniversary, citing irreconcilable differences as the cause of the breakup.
According to the site, Tomeka is requesting sole physical custody and joint legal custody of her and Akon's 17-year-old daughter, Journey. She has also asked the court to prevent the 52-year-old, whose legal name is Aliaune Badara Thiam, from receiving any spousal support, which she is seeking from him.
Representatives for Akon and Tomeka have been contacted by news outlets for comment, but they have not responded as of yet.
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Given that there has been conjecture for years that Akon is a polygamist with several wives—a rumor he deliberately permits to continue—the divorce announcement is a unique glimpse into his romantic life.
“I’mma let it stay a rumor,” he stated in a VladTV interview from 2022. “I like the fact that people are guessing now, I love it. I’m not confirming nor denying. You go online, you may see nine, you might see seven, you might see four. I love it, though.”
Akon also claimed to have "seven boys and two girls," and the divorce document verified that he has nine children.
The "Lonely" singer has been more outspoken about the role of fatherhood, drawing comparisons between his experience of having several children with different women and that of Nick Cannon, who has twelve children with six women.
“That’s how life is supposed to be,” Akon clarified when he appeared on The Zeze Mills Show in 2023. “Why not? [Nick’s] rich. He’s responsible. He takes care of every one of those children.”
He went on, “The baby mothers are with it. They hurt for nothing. And they live comfortably. He’s there for every single one of those kids. I got nine and I’m there for every one of mine.”
