Celebrity Parents

Grimes Sues Her Ex Elon Musk

Grimes filed a lawsuit in California last week, but it raises as many questions as it answers.
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Singer Grimes just filed a lawsuit against her ex, Elon Musk, asking for a court order to formally recognize him as the father of their children. Grimes – born Claire Boucher – went to the courts in California with a “petition to establish parental relationship” between Musk and the three children they have together, according to a report by Page Six. The docket for the case is public, but the filings have been sealed and it does not appear that Musk has responded to Grimes’ filing yet.

A petition to establish parental relationship is meant to legally identify the parents of children born to unmarried couples, like Musk and Grimes. The two began dating in 2018 but have broken up, reconciled and described their relationship status as “fluid” since then. They had a son in 2020 named X Æ A-Xii, then a daughter via surrogacy in 2021 named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk. Early in September, Musk announced that they have another son, Techno Mechanicus. It’s not clear when he was born.

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The most recent reports indicate that Musk and Grimes are on good terms right now, which makes sense since they just had another child together. It’s not clear what prompted Grimes to petition the court for a formal acknowledgment of parentage. These filings are often used to secure child support or custody rights, but Grimes has reportedly not asked for either.

Musk has a total of 10 children. He and his first wife had twins in 2004 followed by triplets in 2006, and though they officially shared custody, Musk’s eldest child publicly denounced him last year. Musk began having children again during his relationship with Grimes, but those aren’t the only three kids he has had in the last few years. He had twins via surrogacy in December of 2021 with one of his employees at Neuralink, Shivon Zillis. It’s unclear if this is regarded as an affair, but it has clearly caused some friction with Grimes.

Grimes lashed out at Musk and Zillis in a series of posts on X last month, saying that they were keeping her from seeing “her son.” She did not specify which one. Later, Grimes deleted those accusatory tweets and assured her followers that she had worked things out with Musk and Zillis. It is unclear how this family diaspora is living right now or why Grimes is seeking legal protection.