Kardashian apologises to fans for failed marriage

Los Angeles: Kim Kardashian says she never meant to hurt anyone by ending her marriage after just 72 days.

The 31-year-old reality TV star posted a message to her fans on her website Tuesday, one day after filing for divorce from pro basketball player Kris Humphries, whom she married in a lavish ceremony that aired as a two-hour TV special on E!

'Married for love'

Kardashian says that while she "married for love" and "would not have spent so much time on something just for a TV show," she admits that she "got caught up with the hoopla and the filming of the TV show."

"When I probably should have ended my relationship, I didn't know how to and I didn't want to disappoint a lot of people," she writes.

Kardashian says she takes "full responsibility for my actions and decisions," adding "it just didn't turn out to be the fairy tale I had so badly hoped for."

'Rushed in too soon'

"I want a family and babies and a real life so badly that maybe I rushed into something too soon," she says.

Kardashian and Humphries dated for nine months before marrying in August.

She goes on to say that reports that she made millions of dollars off the wedding "are simply not true and it makes me so sad to have to even clarify this".

Twitter and Facebook were filled with anti-Kardashian sentiments on Tuesday, including some photos that were reposted thousands of times.

One photo showed the happy wedding couple gazing adoringly at each other above large type that read, "If you think gay marriage cheapens the institution, two words ... Kim Kardashian."

Money for gifts 'to be donated'

In her post, Kardashian says she plans to "donate the money for all the gifts to the Dream Foundation."

The couple's $172,000 wedding registry included such items as a $1,650 coffee pot and two $1,250 sterling silver vegetable spoons.

Kardashian does not mention Humphries, who last played for the NBA's New Jersey Nets, in the 370-word message.

Failed marriage amounted to $250,000 a day

When most couples marry, one would expect that home-making rather than money-making is first on the agenda. Not so in the world of reality television.

In the aftermath of Kim Kardashian's 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries, which she requested be terminated on Monday, it's the money that's talking: specifically, the reported $18 million (Dh66 million) that the couple made out of their extravagant wedding, which broken down translates to $250,000 per day. That's some pay cheque for what critics have long maintained was a sham marriage created to capitalise on Kardashian's fame.

"After careful consideration, I have decided to end my marriage. I hope everyone understands this was not an easy decision," said Kardashian, adding the marriage was supposed to be built to last. "I had hoped this marriage was forever, but sometimes things don't work out as planned. We remain friends and wish each other the best."

The couple had dated for six months before Humphries got down on one knee and spelled out "Will you marry me?" in rose petals on Kardashian's bedroom floor, giving her a ring estimated at $2 million — an event which coincided with the season finale of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The wedding machinery then went into overdrive, with the first reports rolling out of Los Angeles centred less about the couple's love for each other and plans for life together, and more about which company was making the invitations and the cake. Questions about a prenuptial agreement were coyly deflected, with Kardashian telling the press while in Dubai: "My father was an attorney and I'm a smart girl. You can do the math."

The divorce papers now confirm that the document was signed, and in addition to NBA player Humphries footing his own legal bills, he's not going to be entitled to support from his wealthy ex-wife.

The wedding itself, on August 20, was filmed by E!, the channel that airs the main show and two offshoots, Kourtney and Kim Take New York and Khloe and Lamar, and aired to huge ratings in the US the weekend before Kardashian made her headline-grabbing visit to the UAE on October 13, where she told tabloid! about her hopes for a baby.

The re-runs were still on when the divorce announcement came, but now studio heads are said to be reconsidering whether to keep airing the special, cautious about the damage it may do to the Kardashian brand.

In a statement, the channel went against most Kardashian watchers and expressed surprise at the divorce, but did reassure anyone worried the family won't be sharing its current tribulations that what happens next in Kardashian's life will be all over the airwaves.

"All of us at E! are surprised and saddened by this news, and we send our support to Kim and Kris at this difficult time. The Kardashians have always been uniquely open with all aspects of their lives from joyous events to intimate moments to heartbreaking transitions. E! will continue to share the fascinating real lives and larger-than-life existence of this close-knit family."

If anyone was in any doubt about how Kardashian will carry on after her second divorce — she was wed to music producer Damon Thomas from 2000-2004 — the very public visibility of her twitter feed, social engagements and flight bookings should give some insight: the brand lives on. On October 31, the day the divorce papers were logged with a Californian court, Kardashian was tweeting about the opening of her family's Dash boutique in Las Vegas. Two days before, she was photographed smiling at an appearance at a Halloween party in New York. And as the news hit of the end of her marriage, Kardashian was stepping, ring-less, onto a plane to Australia, where she will launch her handbag collection with sister Khloe.

What's next?

Humphries' next move is less clear. In his own statement following the divorce filing — a surprise, he says — he said he was "devastated". "I'm committed to this marriage and everything this covenant represents... I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it work."

US gossip website TMZ.com was early to report that as soon as he got a whiff of divorce, he hired a Hollywood agent and began planning his own celebrity onslaught with perfumes and club appearances planned.

Suggestions are that he wanted Kardashian to move to his home state of Minnesota, something she felt would derail her career, although how a couple planning to spend the rest of their lives together would overlook that detail is just one of the mysterious details about a very public family who somehow manage to hold their cards — and credit cards — close to their hearts.