Divorce is hard. While it is a necessary reality for many, that doesn't mean it doesn't come with problems. Many people who are divorcing want to try to keep things private or in their inner circle because it's complicated. And things only get more complicated when you have kids involved. Because then you're making decisions that affect a lot more people.
Karen and Deon Derrico, stars of the TLC reality show Doubling Down With the Derricos, recently divorced, and they are splitting custody of 13 of their 14 kids. That is a lot of kids to keep track of.
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The couple has 14 children together.
Karen and Deon married in 2005, and are parents to 18-year-old son Darian; Derrick, 13; 12-year-old twins Dallas and Denver; 10-year-old quintuplets Deonee, Daician, Daiten, Deniko, and Dariz; 6-year-old Diez and Dior; and 4-year-old triplets Dawsyn, De'Aren, and Dyver.
TMZ was first to report that the couple filed for divorce on June 4, and it became official two days later.
They will split custody of 13 of their children.
According to the court documents, the former couple will split custody of their 13 children who are minors. Deon will have to pay Karen $1,166 in child support monthly, but Karen won't have to pay child support because she will bear the responsibility of paying for health insurance for all of the children.
Karen is also opting to keep the last name Derrico, and the judge signed off on the decision.
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The demise of their relationship has been well documented.
Fans of their show knew the divorce was coming. The series' most recent season has chronicled the family moving into a new house, which was a major source of tension between the former couple.
"The last few months haven't been easy for any of us, especially for Deon and I," Karen admitted in a confessional. "We haven't really been on the same page throughout this entire house drama, but we're really and truly starting to communicate and see eye to eye."
The end of the episode revealed that the couple had decided to divorce shortly after the move.
Karen and Deon put up a 'unified' front after announcing their divorce.
"Together, we remain unified in the parenting of our 14 beautiful children — their well-being is our priority," the Derricos said in an exclusive statement to People. "We thank everyone for their understanding and support as we move forward for the good of our family."
Deon addressed rumors about their divorce on social media.
In July, Deon took to Instagram to address rumors surrounding his divorce directly.
"I thought it was good to address some of the things we've been seeing and hearing," he said. He also acknowledged that the family "understood that we were sort of putting ourselves and our lives out there" when they agreed to be on television.
He went on to say, "I take offense when someone inboxes me their ideology from a perspective that's limited to 47 minutes from a television show of our lives — and make up this narrative that everyone has seemed to run with, and it derives at nothing."
He then went on to address concerns about how much he pays in child support, saying that it was the "legal fair equity" for him to pay half of what she pays for health insurance in child support.
"But let me be very clear: I cover every bill in both of our houses because we now live in separate houses, yes we do," he clarified. "I cover bills at both houses … I say that not as bragging. I'm proud to be in the position to do it."
