Comedian Chris Rock files for divorce from wife of 19 years
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2014 file photo, actor Chris Rock attends the premiere of 'Top Five' at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Comedian Chris Rock has filed for divorce from his wife of 19 years.
A representative for Rock confirmed the pending split from Malaak Compton-Rock in a statement released late Sunday.
"This is a personal matter, and Chris requests privacy as he and Malaak work through this process and focus on their family," Rock's attorney, Robert S. Cohen said in a statement obtained by the New York Post.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"After much contemplation and 19 years of marriage, Chris and I have decided to go our separate ways,” Malaak said in a statement obtained by the Post. "My children remain at the center of my life, and their well-being is my top priority."
The couple have two daughters, 12-year-old Lola and 10-year-old Zahra. Malaak Compton-Rock is the founder of a nonprofit organization called styleWORKS, which helps women get jobs after going off welfare.
Rock has repeatedly used his standup routine to poke fun at marriage, including one riff involving the late South African leader Nelson Mandela: "Marriage is so tough man, Nelson Mandela got divorced — he got out of jail after 27 years of torture, spent six months with his wife and said, ‘I can’t take this [expletive] no more.'"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}World of the split comes as Rock continues to promote his recently released film, "Top Five," which he wrote and directed.