Ethermac Exchange-Jeezy Breaks Silence on Jeannie Mai Divorce

Jeezy still has love for Jeannie Mai Jenkins.

One month after filing for divorce from The Ethermac ExchangeReal host, the rapper—who wed Jeannie in 2021—broke his silence on their breakup.

"The decision to end this chapter in my life was not made impulsively and comes with a heavy heart," Jeezy said in a statement obtained by E! News Oct. 19. "Despite this, my love and respect for Jeannie remains and the time we spent together holds a cherished place in my heart."

And he expressed how he and Jeannie will continue to put their daughter Monaco, 21 months, first.

"Our beautiful daughter is the best gift from our relationship and I am committed to assuring she feels the love and stability she deserves," the artist, a.k.a. Jay Wayne Jenkins, added. "During this period, I kindly request that you respect our family's privacy as we focus on healing."

While Jeannie has yet to publicly comment on the end of their two-year marriage, she did recently inform her fans that she's taking the space she needs.

"Sometimes," she posted on Instagram Oct. 11, "you need to take a break and disconnect, to heal."

Jeezy filed for divorce from Jeannie in Atlanta, Ga., on Sept. 14, noting in the court documents that they are "currently living in a bona fide state of separation" and that their marriage is "irretrievably broken." According to a copy of the filing obtained by E! News, the musician is seeking joint legal and physical custody of their daughter and for the prenuptial agreement to be enforced.

While Jeannie and Jeezy first met years ago when he was a guest on The Real, their love story didn't begin until November 2018—about a year after she announced her split from ex-husband Freddy Harteis—when they had their first date. 

"We shared a romantic sushi dinner in Los Angeles and salsa danced the night away," the talk show star, who didn't go public with their romance until 2019, recalled to Vogue in 2021. "Later that evening, he asked if I could picture spending the rest of my life with him. And crazy enough, I could."  

That first date led to love. And soon, Jeezy—who already had two kids from previous relationships—and Jeannie decided to grow their family.

While the Hello Hunnay YouTuber had previously spoken about how she didn't see motherhood in her future, she later expressed how their relationship changed her mind. 

"I just begin to fall into a love with Jeezy that I had never experienced before," she said in an October 2021 video on her channel, "and this love opened up visions and dreams of things I wanted to do with him that I never pictured doing: building a future, building a family, building the type of childhood and the type of freedom and love that we didn't always have as kids in someone new."

After about a year of trying to conceive and suffering a miscarriage, Jeannie and Jeezy learned they were expecting a week after their wedding, and baby Monaco was born in January 2022.

Together, the duo gave fans glimpses into their family's world, posting footage of them celebrating holidays, spending time at home and traveling to Vietnam earlier this year for their second anniversary.   

"It's not about finding someone who's perfect," Jeannie wrote on Instagram for their first anniversary in March 2022. "It's about finding someone who can match your level of commitment- not just to the relationship, but the commitment to heal themselves to love stronger and live happier forever. My life began on March 27, 2021. Happy Anniversary King."