‘black-ish’ creator Kenya Barris has filed for divorce from his wife, Dr. Rania “Rainbow” Barris, for a second time, reports TMZ. He cites irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split after 20 years of marriage.
The two have been married since 1999 and share six kids. However, this will be their third time going through divorce proceedings. They worked things out after Dr. Barris filed the first time in 2014. Kenya filed five years later on his 45th birthday and later called it off. But according to new documents obtained by the outlet, the estranged pair has been separated since Sept. 9, 2020.
Kenya is seeking joint legal and physical custody of their minor children between the ages of five and 16 years old. Court documents also indicate that the film producer has agreed to pay spousal support.
As news of Barris’ divorce circulated online, the comments section of The Neighborhood Talk’s Instagram page became flooded with various remarks.
“I wish I would let a n—a file on me twice.”
“The streets ain’t it tho.”
“Sheesh is it breakup season?
“Aww no I like them to together. The show was so good.”
“Third time gone be the charm.”
Kenya Barris is also the creator of “black-ish” spinoffs, “grown-ish” starring Yara Shahidi, and “mixed-ish,” which is loosely based on the childhood of “black-ish” lead character Rainbow Johnson.
One individual said his next series announcement should be “‘Divorced-ish’ coming soon to ABC.”
Another fan brought up his popular Netflix series, writing, “So ‘Black AF’ basically depicted their true relationship?” Another asked, “Ok ok but when is ‘BlackAF’ coming back?”
The satirical “#blackAF” series details the TV mogul’s life with his wife and mother of his children, played by Rashida Jones. The Netflix series was renewed for season two in 2020, and some believe it was based on Kenya’s marriage to Dr. Barris. It may likely have a new home after Barris walked away from his $100K Netflix deal in 2021 to work with BET Studios.
During a previous interview with Entertainment Weekly, Barris admitted that “black-ish” characters Dre, played by Anthony Anderson, and Rainbow, played by Tracee Ellis Ross, are loosely inspired by his own marriage. He pulled from their marital struggles for season-four storylines, including a scene where Rainbow shares her experience with postpartum depression after welcoming her fifth child.
“Dre and Bow have never been immune to tough situations, just like marriages in real life, including my own,” the 47-year-old wrote in a statement in 2019. “We want to shine a light on the challenges a relationship can face and the necessary effort to try and work through them together.”
