Derek Chauvin’s ex-wife, Kellie May Xiong, opted to legally separate from him just a few days after George Floyd died in the custody of the former police officer and three other Minneapolis Police officers.
Xiong, who married Chauvin in June 2010, was a former Mrs. Minnesota. She legally separated from the cop on May 28, 2020 -- just three days after Floyd died on May 25. On May 30, Xiong filed for divorce in Washington County District Court in Stillwater, Minnesota, the Independent reported. She cited "an irretrievable breakdown" in her marriage.
In a statement released by her lawyers, Xiong said "her utmost sympathy lies with [Mr Floyd’s] family." She also requested that her "children, her elder parents, and her extended family be given safety and privacy" amid the divorce proceedings.
The request for divorce was approved on Feb. 2, 2021.
Xiong was born in Laos. In 1977, her family fled to safety in Thailand as refugees. She and her family later moved to Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
As a young immigrant, Xiong reportedly felt like she was still in a refugee camp.
“They say ‘land of the free,’ but I still didn’t feel like we were free,” she said, reported Twin Cities Pioneer Press.
“We didn’t know English. My parents didn’t want us leaving the house because they didn’t trust the world. You land into this brand-new world and you don’t know what to expect, and so we were always kept inside."
Since she is a Hmong woman, her parents found her a husband before she turned 18. The couple was married for a decade and have two children together. But due to an abusive relationship, she decided to file for divorce and move to Minnesota.
Xiong, who was crowned Mrs. Minnesota in 2019, got her associate’s degree in radiology and did her internship in the emergency room of Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. She secured a full-time position and stayed there for 13 years.
It was at the hospital that she met Chauvin, who had brought someone in for a health check before an arrest. After taking the suspect to jail, Chauvin came back to the hospital and asked her out.
Chauvin was found guilty of murder in the death of George Floyd, who died in May 2020 after the police knelt on his neck for over nine minutes.
He is currently in police custody. His sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place in June.
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