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Eminem's Relationship With Ex-Wife Kim Still Looms Large Over His Career

By Eliza Thompson,

2024-07-12

Marshall Mathers a.k.a. Eminem and his ex-wife, Kim Scott , broke up in 2006, but their relationship still looms large over his career.

While the duo were married for a total of less than three years, their romance became a frequent topic in Eminem’s song lyrics—and his controversial onstage antics. At one point, he beat up a blow-up doll made to look like Scott on stage. She later said that the incident made her suicidal, and she sued him for defamation over the song “Kim,” which appeared on his 2000 album, The Marshall Mathers LP .

In the years since, however, the duo have become amicable coparents of daughters Hailie, Stevie and Alaina. “We're really close friends, we're just trying to raise our kids together and make it as normal for them as possible,” Scott said in 2016 on the Mojo in the Morning radio show.

Keep reading for everything to know about Eminem’s relationship with his ex-wife, formerly known as Kim Mathers.

Is Eminem married?

Eminem is not currently married, but he’s been married twice—to the same woman. The rapper married Kim Scott for the first time on June 14, 1999, but the couple divorced in 2001. The duo reconciled and remarried on Jan. 14, 2006, but Eminem filed for divorce in April of that same year.

Who is Eminem’s ex-wife?

Eminem’s ex-wife is Kim Scott, whom he’s known since they were teenagers growing up in Michigan. The duo had a tumultuous relationship which occasionally became the subject of Eminem’s music, as on songs like “Kim” and “Love the Way You Lie.” In 2000, the rapper infamously beat up a blow-up doll designed to look like Scott during a performance. Scott later said that the incident nearly drove her to self-harm.

“Seeing the crowd’s response and everybody cheering, singing the words and laughing and it just felt like everyone was staring at me,” she said during a 2007 interview with Dr. Keith Ablow . “I knew that it was about me, and that night I went home and I tried to commit suicide.”

In 2021, Scott attempted suicide again and was briefly hospitalized, per TMZ .

How did Eminem and Kim Scott meet?

Eminem and Scott met as teens at a house party in Michigan and soon began dating. Scott later lived with Eminem and his family after she ran away from home with her twin sister, Dawn.

“Marshall arrived home from school with a tall, sulky blonde girl,” Eminem’s mom, Debbie Nelson , wrote in her 2008 memoir, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem . “He introduced her as Kim Scott and said she needed a place to stay. I was happy to help out. … As often happens with troubled children, Kim told some pretty tall tales. I looked on Kim as a challenge, someone I hoped I could give a better life to.”

When did Eminem and Kim Scott get married?

Eminem and Scott tied the knot for the first time on June 14, 1999, more than a decade after their first meeting. They divorced in 2001 after two years of marriage.

Five years later, they reconciled and got married a second time, exchanging vows in a private ceremony on Jan. 14, 2006. Their second marriage didn’t stick either, though, and Eminem filed for divorce just four months later.

How long was Eminem married?

Between their two marriages, Eminem and Scott were married for just over two years, but before their first wedding, the pair’s relationship lasted off-and-on for more than a decade.

Why did Eminem get divorced?

Eminem has not publicly spoken about why he and Scott called it quits, but she’s said that his growing fame interfered with their relationship. “When Marshall’s first tour started is when his ego just went ‘poof,’” she said in 2007. “Like he was God, that’s what he thought. … I was just told that I should be grateful that he still talks to me, you know how many women throw themselves at him. And I just pretty much felt like a piece of crap.”

She added: “I believe that Marshall has issues on how to express his love, and I don’t think he knows how to treat women because he wasn’t treated well by his mother. He still had a lot of anger towards her.”

After Scott spoke out about their second divorce—which she blamed on his addiction to sleeping pills—on a radio show in 2006, Eminem responded with a statement shared via his publicist. “The details surrounding both my marriage and subsequent filing for divorce are private, and I had hoped to keep them that way for the sake of my family. However, a few of Kim's statements in a radio interview this morning need to be addressed,” he said at the time. “First, her allegations regarding my status post-rehab are both untrue and unfortunate. Second, she was aware that I was filing for divorce. We both tried to give our marriage another chance and quickly realized that a wedding doesn't fix the underlying problems.”

Does Eminem have kids?

Eminem and Scott welcomed one child, daughter Hailie Jade (born on Dec. 25, 1995), during their relationship. Between her two marriages to Eminem, Scott welcomed daughter Stevie Laine (born on April 16, 2002) with then-boyfriend Eric Hartter . Eminem legally adopted Stevie in 2005 after reconciling with Scott. The rapper also legally adopted his niece Alaina Marie (born on Feb.22, 1993) in the early 2000s because her mother, Dawn (Kim’s sister), was struggling with drug addiction. Dawn died in 2016 at age 41 after a suspected overdose.

Who else has Eminem dated?

Eminem has kept his personal life pretty close to the vest over the years, but he briefly dated Brittany Murphy after they met on the set of 2002’s 8 Mile . During an interview with David Letterman , the late actress said that their romance “came and went.”

Did Eminem date Mariah Carey?

Eminem has long claimed that he dated Carey, but the “Fantasy” singer has repeatedly denied that they ever had a romantic relationship. According to Carey, they connected when she reached out to Eminem about appearing on her 2002 album, Charmbracelet . He subsequently mentioned her on his own 2002 album, The Eminem Show , implying that they’d dated, which she denied.

Carey later addressed the situation in her track “Obsessed” from 2009’s Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel , and while she didn’t say it was about Eminem, the music video heavily hinted in that direction. Eminem responded with the diss track “The Warning,” and 10 years later, he referenced the drama again on the Fat Joe song “Lord Above.”

Does Eminem have a girlfriend now?

Eminem hasn’t publicly dated anyone since his second split from Scott in 2006. “It’s tough,” he told New York magazine of dating in 2001. “Since my divorce I’ve had a few dates and nothing’s panned out in a way that I wanted to make it public. Dating’s just not where I’m at lately.”

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