Teyana and Iman Were Once Dubbed the "Sexiest Couple on Earth" — Why Did They Break Up?

From two children to two reality shows and a whole lot more, Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert experienced a lot of life in their 10 years together. So when news first popped up about their split in 2023, fans were shocked that the pair — who had once been dubbed the "sexiest couple on earth" by GQ — were parting ways after a decade.

So why did the musician and the pro basketball player split in the first place? Here's what we know about the couple's breakup, including the details that came to light over time.

Teyana and Iman, who first met in 2011 but didn't start dating until 2013, welcomed two daughters together over the course of their relationship: Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr. aka Junie (born in December 2015) and Rue Rose (born in September 2020).

Along the way, the proud parents even got secretly married, later revealing to their fans in 2016 that they'd wed in front of the bathroom where Junie had been born.

The couple also starred on two different reality shows, starting with Teyana and Iman in 2018 and followed by We Got Love Teyana & Iman in 2021.

As fans had been welcomed into their home over the years, it was only natural that these same fans wanted answers about why the couple eventually broke up.

Before fans knew about the split, some were concerned that Iman might be cheating on Teyana when a video made the rounds online showing a woman wearing a chain similar to one of Iman's, with a voice in the background that also sounded like Iman's.

Teyana then cleared the air by announcing in a September 2023 Instagram post that she and Iman had broken up.

She noted that they had been "separated for a while," while also emphasizing: "To be 1,000 percent clear, 'infidelity' ain’t one of the reasons for our departure."

"We are still the best of friends, great business partners, and are one hell of a team when it comes to co-parenting our two beautiful children," she wrote. "Most importantly we are FAMILY and in the 10 years together, 7 years married we ain’t ever played with or about THAT. We just keep y’all asses out the group chat lol, which is the reason we’ve been able to successfully and peacefully separate without all of the outside noise."

TMZ then reported the following month that Teyana had actually filed for divorce all the way back in January 2023, eight months before announcing their split to the world. And some of her newer legal documents (filed after their public announcement) told a different story than what fans may have been led to believe.

The docs that Teyana filed painted a picture of Iman as someone who was jealous of his wife's fame and insecure about being enough for her, despite the fact that he earned more as an NBA player (he retired in 2021). She claimed that he had been "treating her cruelly and displaying extreme narcissistic behavior throughout the majority of their marriage." (Iman would later ask that the she change the wording of "cruel treatment" in her documents.)

Teyana said that at one point he didn't want her to work, only to then shame her for not bringing in any money after she gave birth to their first daughter. She also alleged he was "being extremely emotionally and mentally abusive towards her," and she referred to their relationship as an "emotional roller coaster."

And she also claimed that Iman had actually been involved in several cheating scandals, and that she'd only claimed otherwise in order to give him some grace at the time.

In January 2024, TMZ reported on new legal docs in which Teyana claimed that Iman “consistently demonstrates a clear disregard for the safety of the minor children." She alleged that he smoked weed around the kids and once put them in a Chicago rideshare alone.