Anatomy of a Nasty Splitand Vicious Custody Battle
Oct. 16, 2006: Michaels gives birth to daughter Johnnie Rose and son Miller Steven, conceived via an anonymous sperm donor. Etheridge adopts them, as she did her children with Cypher.
Feb. 25, 2007: Michaels is by Etheridge's side at the 79th Academy Awards, where the Grammy winner picks up a Best Song Oscar for "I Need to Wake Up," from the de regueur documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.
October 2008: After a California court overturned the state's ban on gay marriage, Etheridge announced that she and Michaels planned to legally tie the knot. A month later, after the court's decision was blocked by the passing of Proposition 8, the singer said she would stop paying her state taxes.
April 2010: Etheridge and Michaels break up after nine years together, issuing a terse statement asking for privacy. Etheridge told Oprah later in the month that the split was "as mutual as those things can be."
July 2, 2010: Etheridge files to dissolve their domestic partnership, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for joint custody of the twins. Michaels later blogged that she found out about the split from the media: "Her broken promises told to me by headlines….could you stop blind sighting me?/ Have a good concert."
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