LOS ANGELES -- Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and actress Robin Givens chose Valentine's Day to end their turbulent one-year marriage with a mutual divorce obtained in the Dominican Republic, attorneys said Tuesday.
Tyson took a day off from training in Las Vegas, Nev., to fly to the Dominican Republic to gain the judgment, said his attorney, Howard Weitzman.
Dominican law requires only one party be present. A representative for Givens said she remained in Los Angeles because of acting commitments.
Attorneys for Tyson and Givens would not divulge terms of the divorce. In the year they were married, Tyson earned more than $20 million for his lone bout, a 91-second knockout of Michael Spinks.
'Mike is excited, he's happy,' Weitzman said of the champion, who defends his undisputed title Feb. 25 against England's Frank Bruno. 'It's a great Valentine's gift for him. Mike is satisfied it finally ended and that the deal is done. For both Mike and Robin, it's best that they get on with their lives.'
Raoul Felder, Givens' lawyer, said the actress, who appears on television's 'Head of the Class,' did not consider the divorce a present.
'She's very subdued,' Felder said. 'I don't think any divorce is a Valentine's gift. You'd have to be a nitwit to be happy about a divorce. But you take life as it comes. She's dealing with it like millions of other people deal with divorce.'
The couple married Feb. 7, 1988, and their union was marked by violent and acrimonious battles, from New Jersey to Vancouver to the Soviet Union.
Tyson and Givens aired their grievances on national television and the champion accused Givens of drugging him for one of the interviews. Tyson later cursed his wife at a news conference. Givens sued him for character defamation.
Tyson had also filed for divorce and annulment in New Jersey and Givens filed in California.
Tyson recently said his difficulties with Givens stemmed from his inability to control his emotions.
'Emotions have no substance,' he said. 'When you think with your emotions, you have no substance -- no longer are you an intelligent person. You do things you'd never dream of doing. We all go through it. A lot of people have been suckered.
'I'd love it if we could be friends. I don't know if she's coming to the (Bruno) fight or not. I doubt it. I think she's pretty upset at me. She's doing her thing (acting) and I'm doing mine.'
