Rock and Compton-Rock were married for nearly 19 years before they split. According to People, the comedian and former publicist dated for two years before tying the knot on Nov. 23, 1996. Back in 1997, Rock told Ebony Magazine (via People) of his then-wife, “She’s changed me. She’s really calmed me down and centered my life.”
After a few years of marriage, the former couple welcomed their first child, daughter Lola, on June 28, 2002. Their second daughter, Zahra, was born almost two years later on May 22, 2004. In the past, Rock has poked fun at his and Compton-Rock’s girls in his stand-up specials and has even said that he believes they made him a better comedian. “I think I’m a better artist. Everything I’ve done since I’ve had kids is better than the stuff I did before I had kids,” he said back in 2007, per People.
Rock and his ex-wife’s marriage wasn’t without its challenges. According to People, in 2004, the comedian discussed with Howard Stern a sexual encounter that occurred outside of his relationship in 1998. He said he and Compton-Rock were separated at the time. But then came a paternity suit, DNA tests, and a sexual assault allegation, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2009.
Before that, divorce speculation surrounding Rock and his ex-wife surfaced in 2006, with TMZ reporting that the former started formal proceedings. However, the pair then shared a statement with People that said, “We remain, as always, very happy and committed to our marriage and the beautiful family that we have built.”
The following year, Rock fought paternity claims again when a Georgia woman accused the comedian of fathering her teenage son, though Today reported that a DNA test proved the claim to be false. “Though we prefer to keep our private life out of the media, we feel that it is necessary to respond to the many grossly inaccurate media reports that were sold to the tabloids by Kali Bowyer who falsely claimed that Chris Rock fathered her 13-year-old son,” Rock and Compton-Rock said in a joint statement.
The pair called it quits in December 2014, with Compton-Rock sharing a statement, per People, that read: “After much contemplation and 19 years of marriage, Chris and I have decided to go our separate ways.”
Rock issued his own statement via his attorney, saying, “Chris Rock has filed for divorce from his wife, Malaak. This is a personal matter and Chris requests privacy as he and Malaak work through this process and focus on their family.” At the time, a source told People, “This was a long time coming. Chris has known it wasn’t salvageable for a while. He was the one to file because he knew it was time to just move forward already.”
Following their divorce, which was finalized in 2016, Rock was quite candid about his faults in his marriage. A 2017 Rolling Stone profile revealed that Rock said to a comedy-show crowd frankly, “I was a piece of sh*t,” while reflecting on the relationship.
Then in his 2018 Netflix “Tambourine” special, he admitted that he cheated on his wife with three women on tour. “It’s my fault because I’m a f*cking assh*le,” he said, per Us Weekly. “I didn’t listen. I wasn’t kind. I had an attitude. I thought, ‘I pay for everything, I can do what I want.’ That sh*t don’t f*cking work. I just thought I was the sh*t.”