Why Kim Kardashian wants the courts to speed up her divorce from Ye

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian has urged a US court to expedite her divorce, saying it would help her husband Ye to accept that the relationship is over.

Kardashian filed for divorce last year after months of press reports about marital strife and as the rapper formerly known as Kanye West battled mental health issues.

Ye has publicly fought the separation, including using social media posts imploring Kardashian to reconcile.

"I very much desire to be divorced," Kardashian wrote in a declaration filed to a Los Angeles court on Wednesday. "I have asked Kanye to keep our divorce private, but he has not done so.

"I believe that the court terminating our marital status will help Kanye to accept that our marital relationship is over and to move forward on a better path which will assist us in peacefully co-parenting our children."

Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Ye last year. AP

Kardashian filed the petition for divorce a year ago. Two months later, Ye filed his response, which agreed on all the major points, including child custody. Neither discussed the split publicly. A prenuptial agreement prevented property fights.

At first, it appeared there would be a smooth end to one of the most followed celebrity unions in recent decades, between Kardashian, 41, and the rap and fashion mogul, 44.

In December, Kardashian, as is common in complicated divorces, asked the court to declare her legally single before the details of child custody and property are worked out.

She said in Wednesday’s filing that Ye had agreed to the move, known in court as bifurcation, in advance. But on February 16, Ye objected to it in his own filing, and raised a number of new issues.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West began dating in 2012 and married in a lavish ceremony in Italy in 2014. Photo: E! Entertainment Television

Ye in recent months has lashed out on social media against Kardashian, her family and her boyfriend, Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson. He has aired complaints that he is not being allowed to make major parenting decisions and has been excluded from birthday parties and other events for their children.

On Wednesday, Kardashian said it’s clear that Ye is simply attempting to delay, and is causing damage by doing so.

“Mr West, by his actions, has made it clear that he does not accept that the parties’ marital relationship is over,” the court filing says. “Mr West has disseminated on social media the parties’ private communications and misinformation about personal family matters and co-parenting, which has caused emotional distress.”

The couple have four children: daughter North, 8; son Saint, 6; daughter Chicago, 4; and son Psalm, 2.

The pair, who began dating in 2012 and married in a lavish ceremony in Italy two years later, rapidly became one of the world's most instantly recognisable couples.

But their union ran into trouble with reports of bizarre outbursts from Ye, who has bipolar disorder.

"While I wish our marriage would have succeeded, I have come to the realisation that there is no way to repair our marriage," Kardashian wrote in the filing on Wednesday. "Kanye does not agree but at least it appears that he has come to the realisation that I want to end our marriage, even if he does not."

Ye this week released his much-anticipated album, Donda 2, a sequel to last year's Donda, with many of the songs detailing his separation from Kardashian.

— Additional reporting by AFP and AP

Scroll through the gallery below to see Kim Kardashian's style evolution over the years.

Why Kim Kardashian wants the courts to speed up her divorce from Ye

In a new filing, the reality TV star claims her estranged husband is attempting to delay their divorce procedure and is causing damage by doing so