Chance The Rapper is making his way back into the spotlight, and he’s coming clean about his divorce as well as the infamous Carnival video that many assumed was the nail in the coffin for his marriage.
During an episode of the Rory and Mal Podcast, the Chicago artist opened up about his split from Kirsten Corley, with whom he shares daughters Kensli, 9, and Marli, 5. The pair, who met each other when they were 9 years old, divorced in December.
“The reality of it is everybody deals with their family different. The family I come from is very, very close,” he said. “It’s very important for us and for her and her family for us to be tight. So we still travel together, we[‘re] still family forever. It’s just a different format of it.”
He continued,
“I ain’t gonna act like it’s not tough. I ain’t gonna act like it’s perfect and we shook hands and dipped. It’s weird. I think the toughness is that it’s a reality. I think that’s the toughest part. You might feel like you’re over it and you’re not over it. Or you might be used to a certain pattern of operating and because it don’t work like that, you have to allow yourself grace to deal with that and operate in reality.”
He also set the record straight on the infamous Carnival video that took the internet by storm and seemed to set the final stages of his marriage into overdrive. Though he admits the timing seemed suspect, he claims that he and Corley were already separated.
“I was tripping,” he admitted. “I think I was tripping because nobody knew that me and my wife were separated. So I had her looking dumb. Don’t have your lady looking dumb, whether she your BM, your wife, your girlfriend, your best friend. Don’t let your lady look stupid if you with them.”
He continued,
“It’s Carnival. That’s the thing, it’s like, everybody was lit. That was probably the cleanest wine I caught. Y’all are lucky they censored the other wines I was catching. Friends, family, team, press, everybody hit my line like, ‘Yo, this sh*t going viral.’”
Months after the viral clip, Chance and Corley released a joint statement announcing their separation saying, “After a period of separation, the two of us have arrived at the decision to part ways. We came to this decision amicably and with gratitude for the time we spent together.”
Still, Chance says things have “transitioned” into a smooth place for he and Corley when it comes to co-parenting. During his appearance on CBS News, he shouted out his ex and the work they’ve done to protect their children from the effects of the divorce.
“She’s good. Hey Kirsten! And hey, Kensli and Marli,” Chance said. “You know, family is one of the biggest things for me, for her, for my kids, for my mom and dad. So I think the most important thing for anybody that’s having to navigate that is making sure you keep an environment for the kids where they understand that’s the priority.”
Love to see a healthy coparenting situation.
