Michelle Kwan Was Blindsided By Her Husband's Surprise Divorce Filing
Former Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan found out her husband Clay Pell had filed a divorce, from a peculiar tweet, followed by a New York Daily News article with the same message March 29, several reports said Thursday.
The court documents were obtained by Providence Journal, in which Kwan said the couple had tried to reconcile their differences before Pell filed a divorce “without warning.”
Kwan filed her own papers March 30 seeking divorce in Rhode Island. Both she and her husband cited "irreconcilable differences" as the cause.
In the complaint, obtained by the Providence Journal, it stated: “Plaintiff initially learned that the Defendant had filed for divorce in California by means of a ‘Tweet’ on March 29, 2017 and shortly thereafter from the online copy of an article published in the New York Daily News.”
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However, it was unclear which Tweet was being referred to by Kwan.
Kwan filed for divorce in the state of Rhode Island, where the couple lived. She said she and her husband had started to discuss the possibility of divorce in November 2016 and have been living in separate homes since then, according to the documents.
Since Pell's surprise filing in March, tensions between the former couple have worsened. Pell wants the case to be filed in California instead of Rhode Island. However, Kwan wants the California case dismissed and heard instead in Rhode Island.
She also asked the court to order Pell remove his belongings from a residence they were both re-modeling in Newport, Rhode Island. She has also asked they both be reimbursed for the $1.5 million Newport home they purchased in 2014, according to court documents obtained by the Providence Journal.
When Pell filed for divorce in March, he wrote the following statement, obtained then by People:
“It is with deep regret that I share that Michelle and my marriage is coming to an end,” Pell said in the statement. “This is a sad and difficult turn of events for our family. I love Michelle, and wish her the very best as her life takes her in a new direction.”
“I want to thank friends and family who have given wisdom and support, and I ask for privacy during this challenging time,” he added.
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Kwan is the most decorated skater in U.S. history, winning Olympic silver and bronze medals in 1998 and 2002, respectively. She is also a five-time world figure skating champion. The pair met in April 2011, got married in 2013 and they have no children.
Pell is a grandson of Rhode Island's late Democratic U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell, and he unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2014. Pell has also worked in the White House under former President Barack Obama as director of strategic planning on the national security staff, as well as deputy assistant secretary for international and foreign-language education for six months.
Kwan also tried her hands at politics, when she worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and even went on to rent an apartment in Brooklyn to be closer to the Clinton headquarters, according to the Providence Journal.
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