A Deep Dive Into Sherri Shepherd's Two Brutal Custody Battles
Hollywood separations and divorces are often messy, but nothing says "prolonged legal battle" like when children are involved. Such is the case for talk show host Sherri Shepherd, who has had not one but two vicious custody battles with her ex-husbands.
Sherri first got married to Jeff Tarpley in 2001, and the pair welcomed their son Jeffrey in 2005, per Hollywood Life. News of Tarpley and Shepherd's divorce first went public after the television host found out her husband was having an affair and had fathered a child with another woman. The pair's divorce was eventually finalized in 2010, but that wasn't Shepherd's last shot at love.
Through close pal Niecy Nash, Shepherd met TV writer Lamar Sally, and things quickly evolved between the two. Barely a year after Shepherd finalized her divorce from Tarpley, Sally popped the big question. The couple got married on August 11, 2011, but ended up calling it quits nearly three years after tying the knot, per The Los Angeles Times. Like her first, Shepherd's divorce from Sally came with its own drama. Mourning the end of her marriages wasn't the only difficulty Shepherd had to deal with, as the television host also found herself in contentious child custody battles with both of her exes.
Jeff Tarpley and Sherri Shepherd wrestled over their son in court
In April 2014, Jeff Tarpley took ex-wife Sherri Shepherd to court for an emergency hearing seeking temporary physical custody of the former couple's then nine-year-old son. Per People, Tarpley requested to be awarded full custody of Jeffrey, with Shepherd having "no visitation until the court rules on this issue at the hearing." The proceeding, however, didn't take place until a couple of months later, as the court saw no reason for an emergency hearing. According to Tarpley, who threw bad parenting allegations at Shepherd, his son with the television host was not receiving adequate care as he was often left with nannies who could not cater to his immediate needs. The custody petition also listed Shepherd's busy work schedule as the reason she neglected and deprived their young son of "access to basic educational needs, a nurturing and loving environment."
Shepherd promptly fired back at Tarpley, describing him as an absent father and revealing that he lived in California while she lived in New Jersey with their son (per TMZ). Despite the back and forth between the estranged couple, Shepherd was eventually awarded full custody of Jeffrey, with Tarpley getting only visitation rights, per The Daily Mail. Though a nice victory, Shepherd's legal battles were far from over, as she was caught up in yet another child custody battle.
Double the marriage, double the legal battle
Just as the custody trouble with her first husband began, Sherri Shepherd's second husband, Lamar Sally hit the "Less than Perfect" alum with a double whammy. Sally filed for legal separation from Shepherd in 2014, and in a turn of events (via court documents obtained by TMZ), revealed the estranged couple was expecting a son via surrogacy. Interestingly, while Sally's sperm was used in the fertilization process, Shepherd was not the egg donor. Consequently, she contended being listed as the baby's legal mother and asked to be stripped of parental rights and responsibilities. This didn't sit right with Sally, who insisted the television host take responsibility for the baby.
In April 2015, Shepherd and Sally's legal case came to a head when a Pennsylvania court ruled that the television host was the baby's legal mother. Additionally, Shepherd was required to start paying child support. "The ultimate outcome is that this baby has two legal parents, and the parents are Lamar Sally and Sherri Shepherd," Sally's lawyer Tiffany Palmer declared at the time (via People).
Despite the ruling, however, Shepherd maintained a no-relationship rule with the baby. Speaking on this during an interview with Dr. Oz, the media personality explained that while she was happy to provide for the baby, she had no interest in living up to her maternal duties. "He's got a life insurance policy in case anything happens to me. He'll be taken care of the way Jeffrey is. I've just chosen to take myself out because I think it's worse for a child with two parents not getting along," she explained (via Page Six).