Kel Mitchell, known for his rise to fame on Nickelodeon, has recently shared personal details about his tumultuous divorce from his first wife, Tyisha Hampton, and the subsequent custody battle over their two children.
During an extensive interview that lasted almost two hours, 45-year-old Mitchell disclosed the darkest point of his life in 2004 when he considered suicide.
Mitchell and Hampton were married from 1999 and went through divorce proceedings in 2005. They have two children together, Lyric and Allure. Speaking on Club Shay Shay, the “All That” celebrity revealed that he did not seek therapy and internalized his emotional turmoil amidst marital difficulties and the pressures of fame.
“We had a baby. We had an abortion, but then we had a baby,” Kel shared. “She ended up telling me that the baby that was aborted wasn’t mine.”
Mitchell described feeling ensnared by deceit within his marriage.
The comedian also recalled the moment he considered ending his life: “When I was at a hotel in Canada, where I was going to end my life at that moment on the other side of the balcony.”
Divorce and Custody Matters
Mitchell elaborated on the divorce and custody proceedings, stating, “When the divorce happened, you think like cop-parenting, people do it,” he reflected.
“It works when there is a person where both people are taking their emotions out of it, and that’s what it is.” However, according to Mitchell, the co-parenting dynamic was not possible in his case.
“It was a thing of she said, ‘Hey, I’m going to make your life a living Hell. I don’t want you. You need to stay,’” he continued.
“The guy she was seeing at the time. She didn’t want to be with him, but she was pregnant by him. Her family knew that they were together.”
Mitchell expressed the complications of trying to exit the relationship while being urged by his ex-wife’s family to stay involved.
“Within that process, they all wanted me to stay. They wanted me to stay within that and I’m like, ‘No, let’s just co-parent. We can do that.’
When I was at a hotel in Canada, where I was going to end my life at that moment on the other side of the balcony.
Kel Mitchell
Mitchell mentioned that his ex-wife took measures to alienate him from their children, including changing their names. He claimed that she intended to prolong the divorce to burden him with more expenses.
“I’m not doing this to bash her. I feel like we need to pray for her. I still continue to pray for her,” the “Good Burger” actor stated, concluding on a note of forgiveness.
Since then, Mitchell has found love again, marrying rapper Asia Lee in 2012. They have been blessed with a daughter, Wisdom, born in July 2017, and a son, Honor, born in October 2020.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org