Designer Mary-Kate Olsen files for divorce

Mary-Kate Olsen had initially requested an emergency order to file for divorce. PHOTO: MARY-KATE OLSEN/FACEBOOK

SINGAPORE - Fashion designer Mary-Kate Olsen and her husband, French banker Olivier Sarkozy, have decided to end their 4½-year marriage.

According to People magazine, the 33-year-old designer filed for divorce in New York County Supreme Court on May 25, the day New York City courts reopened after closing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

She had initially requested an emergency order to file for divorce from Sarkozy on May 13, according to court documents, but the request was denied. New York City matrimonial attorney Bernard Post told People that her case did not qualify as an emergency.

"Domestic violence is an emergency, perhaps refusing to provide health care is an emergency. I want to be divorced because I want to be divorced now is not an emergency," said Post.

Olsen, who operates two fashion brands (The Row and Elizabeth And James) with her twin sister Ashley, tied the knot with 51-year-old Sarkozy in November 2015.

The couple reportedly had many disagreements in their marriage, including whether they wanted children. Sarkozy, who has two grown children from his previous marriage with writer Charlotte Bernard, did not; Olsen did.

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