A viral social media claim that TikTok star Khaby Lame agreed to a $10 million divorce settlement drawn from his ex-wife’s assets — and that she could not claim half of his fortune because his wealth was supposedly registered under his father’s name — is false, according to reporting and public statements tied to the couple.
The rumors circulated widely after posts and threads alleged Wendy Thembelihle Juel had no legal claim to Khaby’s assets and that her own supposed $10 million would be split between them. Those posts referenced Khaby’s headline-making sale of his image and AI likeness earlier this year as the basis for the story. Close examination of public reporting shows no public settlement figure has been disclosed and the claims about asset registrations and a $10 million payout are unverified and contradicted by available information.
Khabane Serigne Lame — known worldwide as Khaby Lame — and Wendy Juel were married in a traditional ceremony in Senegal in November 2023 and separated in June 2024, several outlets reported. At the time of the separation, Khaby’s manager, Nicola Paparusso, told Vanity Fair the split was due to “unexpected and irreconcilable character incompatibility,” and stressed the ceremony was a “Muslim religious rite,” which the manager said meant a civil divorce procedure was not required. No public court filings or settlement documents have been produced to substantiate the viral monetary claims.
The resurgence of attention around Khaby’s private life comes after a major business deal announced in January 2026: Khaby sold his company, Step Distinctive Limited, and the rights to his face, voice and behavioral model to Hong Kong-based Rich Sparkle Holdings in a deal reported at about $975 million. The agreement gives the purchaser rights to create an AI version of Khaby for advertising, promotions and livestream e-commerce; filings and reporting on the transaction project that related operations could help generate substantial revenue, with the initial target markets cited as the United States, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Rich Sparkle and filings around the deal also state Khaby remains the controlling shareholder of the entity tied to the transaction.
The mistaken narratives circulating online — including claims that Khaby’s assets are registered in his father’s name to shield them from a spouse and that Wendy’s assets total $10 million — appear to have amplified because of the scale of the AI deal and the unusually large sums being reported in entertainment coverage. Neither Khaby Lame nor Wendy Thembelihle Juel have publicly commented on the viral settlement claims. Media outlets that covered the couple’s split when it occurred reported no public settlement amount at the time.
Khaby rose from working in a Turin factory and beginning TikTok videos in 2020 to become one of the platform’s biggest stars, with more than 160 million TikTok followers and sizable Instagram followings. The combination of his global profile and the recent multihundred‑million‑dollar intellectual property transaction has made him a frequent subject of online rumor — a dynamic that helps explain how unverified claims about divorce settlements and asset ownership quickly attract attention.