Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert's Relationship Has Had Its Fair Share of Ups and Downs

Once “The Sexiest Couple on Earth” according to a GQ cover story, Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert are now in the midst of a divorce. Musician Teyana and pro basketball player Iman charmed America with their love story from their first meeting in 2011 until news of their separation in late 2023.

Throughout their storied relationship, Teyana and Iman had two beautiful children, produced and starred in two different reality shows, and paid homage to one another several times on Instagram. But now, they’ve hit a wall as legal papers obtained by TMZ suggest that Iman doesn’t take his parenting duties seriously. Even still, their relationship timeline is worth remembering.

Just after Iman was drafted into the NBA, he went up to Teyana at a party, but she was in a relationship at the time. However, she lived in Harlem and he played for the Knicks, so they stayed in touch and remained friends.

When Teyana learned there was no one to take care of Iman after his big surgery, she helped care for him for a week, which took their relationship from friends to lovers. "The funny part was [that we were] two people who weren't looking for anything but wound up together," she said in a VladTV 2014 interview.

Celebrity couples often wait some time before making their relationships official, but Teyana and Iman waited not even a year to bring their relationship to the public eye when Teyana shared a photo of them kissing for Iman’s birthday. Just a couple days later, Iman posted his own video with Teyana, making it extra official.

Iman shared a pic of an ultrasound to announce the big news. "I couldn't be happier than to share my first child with the woman I intended to have my family with," Iman wrote on Facebook. Teyana announced the news on Instagram with a video of Iman singing to her pregnant belly.

During their baby shower at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland, Iman and Teyana announced they were engaged. To make it more public, Teyana shared a pic showcasing her ruby ring.

Because Iman Tayla, nicknamed “Junie,” was born early, the couple didn’t have the most conventional birth. Iman delivered Junie on their bathroom floor. "Eyes full of tears and barely able to speak to the emergency operator, he tied a pair of red headphones around the umbilical cord. The ambulance made their grand entrance five minutes later," Teyana shared on Instagram.

On The Wendy Williams Show, Teyana shared that she and Iman got married in a private ceremony. They later revealed that they actually did the ceremony right in front of the bathroom where Junie was born.

The couple brought their personal life to the public in their own VH1 reality show, Teyana and Iman. "It's so important to be a positive representation of Black love that my a-- actually got on TV to do it," Iman said in a promo video. Teyana later added, "It is to inspire love, period."

Like Junie, Rue was born earlier than expected. “At 3:28 am on Sept 6th, 2020 Rue Rose decided that the baby shower thrown for her and mommy was too lit,” Iman wrote on Instagram. “She didn't make the party but she managed to make the next day her birthdate!!!"

We Got Love Teyana & Iman was the couple’s E! reality series as a way to put Junie in the spotlight as a big sister.

All was seemingly good until Teyana announced her split from Iman. They celebrated anniversaries, posed with their family in magazines, and celebrated each other on holidays like Mother’s and Father’s Day. But she announced on Sept. 17 that they separated and “have been for a while.”

But she did add, “We are still the best of friends, great business partners and are one hell of a team when it comes to co-parenting our 2 beautiful children … Most importantly we are FAMILY & in the 10yrs together, 7yrs married we ain’t ever played with or about THAT."

She confirmed their divorce in an Instagram post, upset that it was brought to light because of court documents and not because she and Iman spoke about it themselves.

In the documents, she said that Iman smokes weed around the kids and he once put them in a Chicago rideshare alone. The documents say that Iman “consistently demonstrates a clear disregard for the safety of the minor children." As details of their divorce become public, it seems like their split may not be as amicable as first suggested.