#73: Eminem’s Relationship With Kim

Unlike most rappers, Eminem has never felt the need to pretend his romantic life consists solely of anonymous sex with an ever-growing stable of hoes. The megastar has been a one-woman man for most his life, and he’s not afraid to say her name: Kim. He’s also not afraid to brutally murder her in song and beat a blow-up doll of her on stage. What can you say? He’s a heart-on-his-sleeve kind of guy.

The couple first met as young teenagers in 1989, and had a daughter, Hailie Jade, five years later. But the couple didn’t marry until after the release of his breakthrough album, 1999’s The Slim Shady LP. Despite the album’s “‘97 Bonnie & Clyde,” in which Eminem takes his daughter to a lake to help dump her mother’s dead body, Kim hoped marrying would keep him faithful on tour. It didn’t. But it wasn’t until after 2000’s “Kim,” a prequel to “Bonnie” which described his wife’s murder in gory detail (”bleed, bitch, bleed!”), that their family drama made headlines.

First, Eminem was arrested for assaulting a bouncer outside of a Detroit night club that June. A month later, Kim attempted suicide after watching him smack around a dummy while performing “Kim” at a concert. Kim sued for $10 million dollars for defamation of character, and Eminem filed for divorce.

The couple reconciled (settling her suit out of court), but Kim filed for divorce herself in early 2001. Battling drug (and Slim Shady) addictions, Kim had another man’s child after the divorce, but by 2004 the high school sweethearts were back together, remarrying in 2006. The second marriage was even shorter than the first, with Eminem leaving less than three months later amid allegations of continued drug abuse from both parties. The pair has been silent since their second divorce finalized, but with Eminem preparing his first album since their remarriage, one can assume we’ll be hearing more details soon.