Silk Sonic Singer Divorcing Wife of 13 Years
In 2016 Paak revealed he had been married once before but called Chang his 'only wife that matters.'
Anderson .Paak filed for divorce from wife, Jaylyn Chang, on Jan. 12, after 13 years of marriage. The R&B musician and one-half of Silk Sonic with Bruno Mars has reportedly separated from his Chang, also known as South Korean-American singer Jae Lin.
TMZ reports that the couple married in 2010, contrary to previous reports that they tied the knot in 2011. At age 21, Paak was married once before, but details about his previous spouse are unknown. In his petition, he cites irreconcilable differences as the reason for the divorce and asks that neither partner receive spousal support.
Also, Paak did not specify a separation date with Chang, with whom he shares two sons, Soul Rasheed, 11, and Shine Paak, 6. The Ventura artist is seeking joint legal and physical custody of their sons while plans are being finalized regarding the ex-couple's property and assets. As announced in 2022, Paak will star alongside Soul in his directorial debut film, K-Pops!
Paak explained on The Breakfast Club in 2016 that he met Chang while employed as a teaching assistant at Musicians Institute in Hollywood. Additionally, the artist was a drummer in the institute's gospel vocal class, in which Chang was enrolled. During the same interview, he revealed he had been married once before but called Chang his "only wife that matters."
Paak said when they met, she had immigrated from Korea with no knowledge of English. "These things that I've gotten — like, my family, my wife, my son — have all been byproducts or whatever of my passion for music," Paak said on The Breakfast Club. He explained that as soon as he became successful financially, he gifted Chang a Chanel bag.
In an interview with Hypebeast published in April 2023, Paak mentioned Chang as the reason he has learned more about his Korean heritage. "My mom is half Black and half Korean, so I'm a quarter Korean, but I never knew much about my Korean culture until when I was married to my wife, who is fully Korean," Paak said. "My kids pretty much see themselves as Korean. Raising [biracial] kids, there's a dynamic of 'all right, you got this side and you got this side' and teaching 'em about both."
Esquire's March 2021 interview with Paak described Chang as a singer in a gospel rock band. Furthermore, he emphasized that they raise their sons bilingually in an English-and-Korean-speaking household. On Sunday, Paak was photographed in Mexico with his reported new girlfriend, Dutch singer Sterre Marith Tapilatu, according to TMZ.