When Kanye "Ye" West brought estranged wife Kim Kardashian out on stage wearing a wedding dress during the third Donda listening party on Thursday, the move was met with widespread confusion.
The reality TV star and entrepreneur, 40, filed for divorce from her musician husband, 44, on February 19. So, is this a sign that the separation is off?
Neither West nor Kardashian have officially commented on the status of their divorce or made any public legal moves since April, when it was agreed in court that they would end their marriage owing to "irreconcilable differences".
The couple agreed to joint custody of their four children – North, 8, Saint, 5, Chicago, 3, Psalm, 2 – and also agreed that neither would require spousal support.
However, Kardashian stepping out in a white Balenciaga haute couture wedding gown at the listening party, held at Chicago’s Soldier Field Stadium, hinted at a different message entirely.
TMZ has reported that while a divorce is not completely off the table, "things behind the scenes are drastically improving for the former couple".
Quoting an unnamed source, the celebrity news site reports that the couple is "working on rebuilding the foundation of their relationship".
In the days leading up to the listening party, West was seen wearing his wedding ring, despite the February separation. It was not possible to see if Kardashian had reinstated her wedding band for the listening party, as the borderline-opaque veil covered her hands.
However, the ring has been notably missing from her hand in recent social media posts.
A vow renewal or performance art?
West is no stranger to immersive performance art; he also built a to-scale replica of his Chicago childhood home for the Donda listening party. So it has been speculated that the stunt was purely performative in a bid to beat rival Drake in a battle for album sales.
"Kanye has been telling other rappers that he and Kim are back together, but everybody knows that isn’t true," an industry insider told Page Six.
"The real story is that Kanye wants to beat Drake in record sales, and he is putting on a big show of performance art to grab all the media attention."
Kim and Kanye have 'come a long way'
It seems that, for the time being, their divorce is still on the table. However, the couple are now on speaking terms, according to friends, and they are working on an "amicable" relationship.
"They have come a long way since Kim filed for divorce," a source told People. "It's taken them months to get to this point. Kim is happy that they get along and that things are amicable."
On June 8, West's 44th birthday, Kardashian posted a birthday tribute to her estranged husband on Instagram, writing: "Love U for Life!"
A second source told Page Six: "Kanye asked Kim to be part of his performance art finale, and she was happy to help him achieve his creative vision and will always support him as an artist.
"Marriages are complicated, especially ones including four young children. Kim and Kanye have a genuine love for one another and deep history together."
Kim and Kanye: a brief relationship history
Kardashian famously married basketball player Kris Humphries in August 2011; a marriage that was filmed for a two-part special of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, but only lasted 72 days before she filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
In April 2012, when she was still legally married to Humphries, Kardashian began dating West, a friend she says she had known "since 2002 or 2003".
Kardashian and Humphries's divorce was finalised on June 3, 2013, a week before the arrival of West and Kardashian's first child, North, on June 15, 2013.
West proposed to Kardashian on October 21, 2013, on her 33rd birthday.
The pair married on May 24, 2014, at Fort di Belvedere in Florence, Italy. For the occasion, she wore a gown by Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy.
They have since had three more children, son Saint born on December 5, 2015, daughter Chicago born on January 15, 2018 and son Psalm born on May 9, 2019.
