30 Rock's Tracy Morgan Files for Divorce

In August 2007 and again in January 2008, comedian Tracy Morgan’s wife Sabina Morgan filed for divorce, citing his drinking problem. We know now that she apparently dismissed her case(s) because the actor, who appears on the popular NBC comedy 30 Rock, filed for divorce himself in New York last Friday.

Morgan was a regular on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2003. He now plays the character Tracy Jordan on 30 Rock. Sabina was Morgan’s high school sweetheart. They have been married for 23 years and have three sons.

Despite the recent divorce filing in Bronx Supreme Court, Morgan has apparently been separated from Sabina for the last eight years.

Sabina’s August 2007 and January 2008 filings came after a string of alcohol-related criminal charges and probation violations brought against Morgan. He had to wear a SCRAM alcohol-detection ankle bracelet for most of 2007 but now claims to be sober.

Media sources report that Morgan has had numerous girlfriends over the years and that the couple generally behaved as if they were already divorced. Based on my (very unscientific) internet research, it looks like Morgan went public with his current girlfriend Tanisha as early as January 2008.

It seems unlikely that the couple signed a prenuptial agreement before their marriage back when Morgan was 17 years old. New York is not a community property state. Instead, property is handled by equitable distribution. In the absence of a prenuptial agreement or a settlement agreement, a judge will divide the marital property in a fair and just manner.

The court records in this case have apparently been sealed. We don’t know then if the divorce has been sought on no-fault grounds or on at-fault grounds. New York allows no-fault divorces only where the parties have lived separately for at least one year and have reach a settlement agreement. At-fault grounds include adultery, cruelty, abandonment for more than a year or imprisonment of one of the parties for more than three years.

Since it was Morgan who filed this time, my guess is that these two will go the no-fault route. They will have no custody or visitation issues work out as their youngest child is 18. Morgan will technically be required to pay child support until the youngest child turns 21 unless the child works full-time, is married or joins the armed services (i.e., as long as he is college-aged). And after such a long separation, the Morgans have likely sorted out the financial details of their split by now.

Also See:

• 2008 Celebrity Split Wrap-Up