Here's one curtain call Eminem wasn't looking forward to.
The Detroit rapper's second divorce from Kim Mathers was made official Tuesday after the estranged couple appeared at a brief settlement hearing in Macomb County Circuit Court, area newspapers report.
Three months after the pair failed to hammer out a settlement agreement, sending the case to mediation, the duo formerly known as Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Bruce Mathers III told Circuit Judge Antonio Viviano that they had arrived at a private out-of-court arrangement and understand that the split is now final.
Eminem and Mathers will share legal and physical custody of 10-year-old daughter Hailie Jade Scott, who turns 11 on Christmas day.
Apparently the newly single entities were on their best behavior in court, because Viviano told reporters after the hearing that they "both conducted themselves with dignity and respect. They were a pleasure."
It seems as if court is the only place where Eminem and Mathers can coexist these days.
The erstwhile high school sweethearts tried to give peace a chance, tying the knot for the second time Jan. 14 after more than four years apart. Eighty-two days later, however, Eminem was back in divorce court, citing "a breakdown in the marriage relationship to the extent that the objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved."
The lowlights of their first union, which lasted from June 1999 until October 2001, included Eminem's fierce lyrics on his The Marshall Mathers LP tune "Kim," in which he threatened to off his wife, Mathers' suicide attempt in 2000 and her subsequent lawsuit seeking $10 million for the emotional distress her husband's music caused her.
They briefly reconciled in late 2000, but Mathers was seeking an expedited divorce by March 2001 and ended up with full custody of Hailie Jade after a nasty dispute.
While 2005 ended with Eminem talking about taking a break from being an artist following the release of the greatest-hits album Curtain Call, the rapper is closing out 2006 in style.
He's currently featured on the hit Akon single "Smack That," which peaked at number two on the Billboard singles chart and scored a Grammy nod for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The compilation album Eminem Presents: The Re-Up dropped Dec. 5 and sold 309,000 copies its first week out, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200.