Influencer Kelley Lorraine announced her divorce from husband Luis Joel in July after eight years of marriage, according to PEOPLE. The 30-year-old content creator is now adjusting to single motherhood while raising their two young daughters in Los Angeles.
Lorraine spoke candidly about navigating the separation day-by-day.
“I think that the next few months is going to be a lot of me figuring out who I am on my own,”
Lorraine told PEOPLE in a recent interview.
The couple’s relationship began unconventionally in 2017. Joel, then 39, had three children from a previous marriage living in Puerto Rico when Hurricane Maria threatened the territory. Lorraine, just 22 at the time, suggested bringing the kids to the continental United States and used her own money to buy their plane tickets.
They’d only been dating a few months when Lorraine began helping raise Joel’s teenagers, ages 17, 14, and 12.
The pair married in 2018 and welcomed two daughters together. They shared their blended family journey with 3 million TikTok followers over the next eight years.
“This isn’t an easy post to write, but after a lot of reflection and many difficult conversations, my husband and I have separated and are getting divorced,”
Lorraine wrote in a tearful TikTok video announcing the split.
“This has been the hardest few months of my life and something I never anticipated.”
Joel has relocated to Texas following their separation. Lorraine remains in Los Angeles with their 4- and 6-year-old daughters.
“It’s just a girls house now – we’re going to make it a Barbie Dreamhouse. It’s been really fun. It kind of just feels like a big sleepover every night,”
Lorraine said.
Joel’s 19-year-old daughter Ana continues living with Lorraine while pursuing an acting career. Despite being only 11 years older, Lorraine says their relationship has evolved from parental to friendship as Ana matured.
“She’s been a huge help. She’s always there if I need something,”
Lorraine said about Ana’s support with the younger children.
Lorraine is relying primarily on family support during the transition. Her parents live out of state, along with a close friend from grade school who lives locally.
“It’s a lot of phone calls to family because we’re a little off on our own,”
she explained.
The divorce raises questions about Lorraine’s social media content, which previously featured videos of the couple together. She’s planning a trip to visit Joel in Austin to potentially create co-parenting content.
“I think I would be comfortable making videos with him about co-parenting. I think that me and him are going to be able to stay friends, which I think is going to be a really good thing – especially for the kids,”
Lorraine said.
Beyond social media, Lorraine is focusing on other aspects of her life. She cares for four dogs: two Australian Shepherds, a German Shepherd, and a golden retriever. She’s also helping Ana with her acting career by assisting with line memorization and self-tape filming.
Recently, Lorraine and her daughters attended The Bad Guys 2 premiere – their first fancy Hollywood event together.
“The girls had a ton of fun. They thought it was the coolest thing ever. They still talk about it,”
Lorraine said.
“This was the first time that I got to bring Ana, which was really exciting because she’s pursuing acting. It was cool for her to be able to see that side of everything.”
Lorraine married Joel when she was 23, spending her entire twenties in the marriage while helping raise teenagers. Now she’s navigating single parenthood and rediscovering her identity as an individual.
