After 40 years of marriage, Reverend Al Sharpton (66) filed for divorce from his estranged wife Kathy Jordan Sharpton.
On Thursday, the Baptist minister submitted legal documents in the Manhattan Supreme Court to end their marriage. The move only comes 17 years after they separated. Since the 2004 split, Sharpton and Jordan, co-founder and president of the National Action Network, lived in different residences.
The pair met in 1971 while Sharpton was touring with James Brown, and Jordan was Brown’s backup singer. The civil rights leaders married Jordan nine years later, in 1980. The couple had two daughters together, Dominique and Ashley, before separating 14 years later.
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Since 2013, Sharpton has been linked to girlfriend and fashion designer, Aisha McShaw (42).
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 18: Al Sharpton and Aisha McShaw attend 2016 Triumph Awards presented by National Action Network and TV One at The Tabernacle on September 18, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
The divorce, after a long separation, sparked rumors that the baptist minister plans to wed McShaw. We’ll have to wait to see if that’s true.
Sharpton’s aide, Rachel Noerdlinger, told the Daily News in 2013, “His exact words to me were, ‘Rachel, I’m not announcing an engagement or a marriage. Don’t I have a right to date when my marriage has been over for a decade?'”
Both Sharpton and Jordan’s lawyer refused to comment.
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