Who Is Eminem’s Ex-Wife? All About Kim Scott

Eminem and Kim Scott have been married and divorced twice

Best known for his rhythmic raps, Marshall Mathers, a.k.a. Eminem, drew inspiration from his romance with Kimberly Ann Scott for several of his notable songs — though not all of them painted her in the best light — including “Kim,” “’97 Bonnie & Clyde” and “Love The Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna.

In 1988, the pair met as teenagers at a house party and began an on-again, off-again relationship that would go on for nearly two decades. They were married twice, in 1999 and 2006, before divorcing for good in 2007.

They also welcomed a daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, in 1995. Despite their rocky relationship, Hailie has spoken highly of both her parents and their impact on her life.

After graduating summa cum laude from high school in 2014, she described her dad and mom as influential figures. “They have pushed me to be the person I am and have given me all the support to achieve what I have,” she said in a school profile.

So, who is Eminem’s ex-wife? Here’s everything to know about Kim Scott and her relationship with the singer.

She grew up in Michigan

Kimberly Ann Scott and her twin sister Dawn Scott were born to Kathleen Doherty in Warren, Michigan, on Jan. 9, 1975. In 1988, the sisters ran away from home and relocated to a youth shelter outside of Detroit.

She met Eminem as a teenager
Scott was 13 when she first crossed paths with Eminem, 15, at a house party.

“I’m standing on top of their coffee table with my shirt off, with a Kangol on, mocking the words to LL Cool J’s ‘I’m Bad.’ And I turn around and she’s at the door smoking,” he recalled in his 2014 book How It All Got Started: Lessons in Life, Art and Entrepreneurship from Hip Hop Icons.

Eminem’s mom took her in as a teenager
Not long after the two met, they began an on-again, off-again relationship, and the future rapper brought Scott home to his mother, Debbie Nelson’s house.

“Marshall arrived home from school with a tall, sulky blonde girl,” Nelson wrote in her 2008 memoir, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem. “He introduced her as Kim Scott and said she needed a place to stay. I was happy to help out.”

She continued, “Kim said she was 15 and I had no reason to doubt that. In truth, she was so cute and busty that she could have passed for 17.”

Scott’s actual age was revealed when truant officers inquired into her many absences from school.

“As often happens with troubled children, Kim told some pretty tall tales,” Eminem’s mom added. “I looked on Kim as a challenge, someone I hoped I could give a better life to.”

She shares kids with Eminem

Eminem and Scott welcomed their daughter, Hailie, on Dec. 25, 1995.

In 2001, the “Without Me” rapper said becoming a father was “a real wakeup call” for him.

“She made me get my a– in gear — to make something of my life and try 10 quadrillion times harder than I had before,” he told British publication Q. “Everything that I am doing right now is for Hailie … the money — it’s for her college.”

In between her two marriages to Eminem, Scott welcomed Stevie Laine Scott on April 16, 2002, with her then-boyfriend Eric Hartter. In 2005, Eminem legally adopted Stevie when he got back together with Scott.

Eminem’s 3 Kids: All About Hailie, Alaina and Stevie
Scott’s twin sister Dawn gave birth to her daughter Alaina Marie Scott on Feb. 22, 1993. Eminem legally adopted her in the early 2000s when her mother struggled with drug use.

“I have full custody of my niece,” he told Rolling Stone in 2004. “My niece has been a part of my life ever since she was born. Me and Kim pretty much had her, she’d live with us wherever we was at.”

Dawn died in 2016 from a suspected overdose, PEOPLE confirmed at the time.

She married and divorced Eminem twice

Eminem and Scott wed on June 14, 1999, before he departed on his first tour. However, things were rocky for the couple from the start of their marriage.

During an episode of Dr. Keith Ablow’s talk show in 2007, Scott said she married Eminem to keep him “faithful and grounded” when he went on tour, but it didn’t work out.

By 2001, the pair called it quits. However, they remarried on Jan. 14, 2006, in a “small, private ceremony” in Michigan, according to the rapper’s rep, Dennis Dennehy. “Family and close friends were in attendance,” he told PEOPLE.

Shortly after, though, Eminem filed for divorce in April 2006, and it was finalized in an out-of-court settlement in December of that same year.

“There was a lot of sadness about why this didn’t work out. They’ve been together for 17 years,” her attorney Michael J. Smith told PEOPLE. “They’re life-long friends, lovers, have been husband and wife, they’re raising children together … It’s not the end and it’s not over between them.”

Smith continued, “Kim is doing great. She is a very articulate, very smart woman. She is going back to college to study design. She just wants to be a mom and go back to college. That’s what she wants to do right now.”

She’s struggled with depression
Following her second divorce from Eminem, Scott has mostly stayed out of the spotlight but has also struggled with substance abuse and depression.

On Oct. 7, 2015, she intentionally drove her Cadillac Escalade into a utility pole after consuming prescription pills and a fifth of Malibu rum.

“I sat at the end of a road where I knew that no one else but myself would get hurt,” she later revealed while speaking on 95.5 WKQI’s Mojo in the Morning. “Yes, I drank, I took pills and I hit the gas and aimed for a pole.”

She added, “I never expected to make it out of that alive. I apologized immensely. I did not even expect to make it through that, and I told [police] that I tried to do this on purpose.”

The crash resulted in a concussion, broken toes and a broken wrist. Scott was booked on a DUI charge, for which she was ordered to attend drug and alcohol counseling, undergo a year-long probation and pay a $900 fine, according to The Detroit News.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

She and Eminem are focused on co-parenting
Despite separating as a couple after decades together, Scott told the Detroit-based radio show Mojo in the Morning that their children were a top priority for them.

“We’re really close friends, we’re just trying to raise our kids together and make it as normal for them as possible,” she said in 2016 about her relationship with the artist.