AFTER a tumultuous 14-year marriage marked by drug arrests and stints in rehab, Whitney Houston is divorcing Bobby Brown.
The pop singer filed divorce papers in Orange County Superior Court this week, a month after filing for legal separation from Brown, Houston's publicist Nancy Seltzer said.
Houston, 43, had asked in her separation papers that she be granted custody of the couple's 13-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina, and that Brown, 37, be allowed visitation rights.
The couple wed in 1992, with Houston at the height of her fame as a Grammy-winning superstar known for such hits as I Will Always Love You.
Brown won acclaim for his gritty R B songs as a one-time member of the boy band New Edition.
During their marriage, Brown was arrested for drugs and alcohol and Houston entered drug rehabilitation programs twice.
In an attempt to clean up her public image, Houston stepped out last month for an event in Beverly Hills with cousin Dionne Warwick and music mogul Clive Davis, with whom she is working on a new album.
Brown, who also has two teenage children with a Massachusetts woman, recently paid up to $US11,000 ($14,620) in child support arrears after being threatened with arrest two weeks ago if he stepped back into the state.
Brown's attorney has said he was having a very difficult time due to the separation initiated by Houston.
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