Actress Robin Givens married heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson for his money and fame and had no intention of making the marriage work, Tyson said in divorce papers filed Friday.
"Having been tricked into marriage by the defendant, (he) found himself constantly manipulated by her and her family to the point of personal distraction regarding his own welfare and career," the papers said.The papers, filed in New Jersey State Superior Court, allege that Tyson was "the hapless victim of intentional fraud." He asked for both an annulment and a divorce.
Tyson, 22, and Givens, 23, were married in February and lived in a large estate valued at $4.5 million in Bernardsville, N.J. The marriage has been rocked by rumors of domestic quarrels and Tyson's violent temper.
Givens filed for divorce in California last Friday, one week after she described Tyson in a nationally televised interview as a threatening and manic-depressive person.
Tyson is filing for divorce based on the grounds of extreme cruelty, which started at the beginning of the marriage and continued to the point where Givens "abandoned" Tyson and their Bernardsville residence last week, the papers said.
The divorce papers say Givens waged a "campaign . . . to publicly humiliate the plaintiff, strip him of his manhood and his dignity and to destroy his credibility."
Tyson also said Givens drove a wedge between Tyson and his friends and advisers, then abandoned him "with as much notoriety as possible and (sought) whatever personal gain might be available to her both in terms of media notoriety and asset acquisition."
Tyson is asking the court to equitably distribute all the couple's property acquired during the marriage but requested that Givens be prevented from sharing in his earnings and the assets acquired through his earnings.
Because Givens filed for divorce in California, judges in both states must decide which state has jurisdiction over the divorce and assets.