ATLANTA (AP):

Court records show that Usher and Tameka Raymond were separated for nearly a year before the R&B singer filed for divorce, calling the marriage "irretrievably broken."

A divorce petition obtained by The Associated Press says the couple has lived separately since July. The two were married in a glitzy ceremony in August 2007, but split nearly a year later. The petition was filed last Friday in Fulton County Superior Court.

The Raymonds have two young sons: 18-month-old Usher Raymond V and six-month-old Naviyd Ely Raymond. Tameka Raymond has three children from a previous marriage.

The petition says there is "no reasonable hope of reconciliation" between Usher, 30, and Tameka Raymond, 38.

Usher is seeking joint custody of the children.