“This really was done amicably. The filing wasn’t a surprise to either of them; both knew it was coming,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “There is no one person who is exiting the marriage. They both just grew apart from each other. They both wanted to make the marriage work — that’s why they put this off for so long.”

While West, 43, has been away from his family living in Wyoming, he plans to stay close to the estranged couple’s four children: daughter North, 7, son Saint, 5, daughter Chicago, 3, and son Psalm, 21 months. “Wyoming will still be Kanye’s primary residence, but he also has his own place in L.A.,” the insider adds.

Kardashian, 40, filed for divorce on Friday, February 19. She is reportedly seeking joint legal and physical custody of their kids.

Us reported in January that the reality star was “done” with her marriage to West six years after they tied the knot. “They have both been living separate lives for many months now,” a source revealed at the time. “Kim and Kanye haven’t been on the same page for a while now.”

An insider told Us the separation was “only a matter of time,” pointing to “a big fight” the pair had in December 2020 as the breaking point. “Kanye blew up at Kim and she was really upset.”

Us also confirmed that Kardashian had attorney Laura Wasser on “retainer” since summer 2020.

The KKW Beauty founder hesitated to make legal moves for a specific reason though. “Kim wants the divorce settlement finalized before formally filing,” a source said in January. “Settlement talks are ongoing. Kim wants to control the PR campaign of the divorce and she was blindsided by leaks about the divorce reports.”

As the divorce filing loomed, Kardashian and West continued spending time away from one another. “They have been living apart for a year now and he doesn’t have too many things [at Kim’s house] that he would need,” an insider told Us earlier this month. “They are both clearly going through the hardest part of this separation right now.”

The source noted that “the end” was “near” for the twosome at the time: “There is no communication between them right now. They’re living as a divorced couple. Kim’s only concern is her kids and her family. Her friends were sure she would file by now. It could happen at any moment. There’s no way either of them will drag this out through the summer; it’s just not sustainable for either of them.”

This story originally appeared on: US Magazine - Author:Erin Crabtree