Jeezy and Jeannie Mai are keeping the details of their split private, but a purported source may have insight into what doomed their short marriage. The pair has been husband and wife for two years and were due to celebrate their third anniversary next March.
The rapper officially filed for divorce on Sept. 14, citing that their union was irretrievably broken. He hopes to share joint legal and physical custody of their only child, 1-year-old daughter Monaco, and is asking that child support be determined by Georgia law. He also has two adult sons and a young daughter from previous relationships.
An insider tells “Entertainment Tonight” that the couple did not see eye-to-eye on “certain family values and expectations. They had different views, and each felt like their needs weren’t being completely met.” Ongoing banter among social media users is loaded with speculation that their cultural differences were the ultimate deal-breakers.
“Marry in your race! That’s all that’s the comment,” wrote the user. Another quipped, “Two different cultures. If you date outside your race, you have to be willing to compromise.” And “This should’ve been discussed during their dating timeframe waaaaayyyy before marriage was a topic of discussion,” wrote a third person.
Jeannie, a native of San Jose, California, is fully Vietnamese. Both of her parents grew up in the Asian country. She has openly discussed the pride she has in her Vietnamese-American heritage. “Embracing my origin has made me the confident and grateful person I am,” she told NBC News in 2016.
She and her mother, Mama Mai, share a tight bond and regularly appear on the Emmy winner’s YouTube channel, “Hello Hunnay with Jeannie Mai.” It was on that channel in 2021 that an astrologer told Jeannie she was destined to have two marriages but that the fate of her love life was in her hands — literally.
“If I get greedy and I do something to mess up my future, then I can, of course, go marry up and mess up,” said Jeannie after having her palm read. She was previously married for a decade to Freddy Harteis. They split in 2017.
Also in 2021, Jeannie announced her pregnancy. During an episode of “The Real,” she discussed having to set boundaries with her mother. Mama Mai moved in with the newlyweds soon after learning she was becoming a grandmother.
The bonus housemate was a surprise to Jeezy, who picked her up from the airport only to realize she was in tow with several suitcases and boxes of her belongings. “In Asian culture, you don’t even have to ask … That’s not Jeezy’s style,” said Jeannie.
“I had to have a talk with her, but more importantly, Jeezy wanted me to talk to her. I wanted him to talk to her…she has to respect his voice as the man of the house,” she added. In Asian culture, it is tradition for Asians to live with a large extended family, which may include a spouse’s parents.
In May 2023, Jeannie took Jeezy on a three-week trip to Vietnam. She said it was a “life-changing experience for us both” and beautiful to share the complexity of her culture. “It was a powerful reminder of the importance of cultural exchange and the power of sharing our stories and our experiences with one another,” she told Tatler Asia.
However, official court documents from the Superior Court of Fulton County suggest that the “Seen It All” rapper may have been pursuing a divorce from Mai as early as June 15, 2023.
Just weeks after the pair returned from Vietnam, and three days before the couple hosted a Father’s Day gathering at their Atlanta home, a signed and notarized document reveals that Jeezy, real name Jay Wayne Jenkins, may have been starting the divorce process. The documents were filed by Jeezy’s attorney three months later. The couple also has been absent from each other’s Instagram accounts since June.
TAMAR BRAXTON SAYS SHE FEELS BAD FOR FORMER CO-HOST JEANNIE MAI AND JEEZY DIVORCE WHILE THE PAIR SPEAK OUT AGAINST INFIDELITY RUMORS AND SAY EACH OTHER DISAGREED ON FAMILY VALUES 🥹 pic.twitter.com/entUUB8yR4
— Katherine Harris (@IamKatHarris) September 19, 2023
Jeannie has been sans her wedding ring in recent Instagram posts, but she continues to use her married last name, Jenkins, as her handle. Amid her and Jeezy’s silence, rumors of infidelity also have begun to run rampant.
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