Prominent Vegas couple Glynda and Jim Rhodes getting divorced

COURTESY PHOTO

Jim and Glynda Rhodes

Click to enlarge photo

Jim and Glynda Rhodes at the 2007 Rock for the Cure event.

Las Vegas power couple Glynda and Jim Rhodes are entering 2012 tied up in divorce proceedings.

For reasons that have not been fully disclosed, Glynda Rhodes filed for divorce on Oct. 26 in Clark County Family Court, with her attorneys citing only that she and her husband "are incompatible in marriage."

Attorneys for Jim Rhodes responded with a counterclaim on Dec. 1, agreeing the couple "are incompatible in marriage with no possibility for reconciliation." But the attorneys disputed Glynda Rhodes' assertion that her husband was responsible for all of their debt — an indication the case could grow contentious unless it’s settled.

"There are community obligations of the parties to be adjudicated by the court," Jim Rhodes' counterclaim said.

An attorney for Glynda Rhodes said Tuesday that he and his client had no immediate comment on the divorce filing. Jim Rhodes' legal team couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

If Jim Rhodes has his way, the resolution of the divorce will be conducted out of the public eye, as his attorneys have asked that the case be sealed.

Otherwise, he wrote in a court declaration, "highly sensitive and confidential business material" will be disclosed publicly.

"Specifically, I will be producing valuations, business plans and operating agreements relating to certain companies, all of which are a going concern," he wrote, suggesting the value of assets would play a role in the ultimate divorce settlement.

"In addition, because of the publicity plaintiff (Glynda) and I have received from the media, it is also necessary for the court to seal the records in this instant divorce matter to protect plaintiff, her children and I," he added.

The couple for years has been in the headlines. Jim Rhodes is known as a hard-charging and successful home builder, though his company fell into bankruptcy in 2009. His stylish wife gained attention on the social circuit and in the community, where she’s a board member of the Public Education Foundation.

Largely because of their fundraising efforts, the Rhodeses were named the city's most influential couple in 2005 by In Business Las Vegas, the predecessor publication to the Las Vegas Sun's sister business magazine, VEGAS INC.

Glynda, for instance, chaired the Rhodes Homes Charitable Giving Committee and also had served as a board member at Opportunity Village.

The Rhodes were married on April 8, 2004, in Hawaii, and had no children together. Each had children from previous marriages.

A society page item in the Las Vegas Review-Journal at the time noted the couple flew 77 family and friends from Las Vegas to Hawaii for a weeklong celebration of their marriage.

As noted by Sun columnist John Katsilometes,the couple was known for extravagant spending when the economy was booming in Las Vegas.

That included Glynda Rhodes buying a guitar signed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney at an auction for $20,000 and the couple renting Rain nightclub at the Palms and hiring the Goo Goo Dolls to perform for a holiday party there.

Their spending and charitable giving, however, seemed to decline with the recession. In 2009, thecouple was sued by the Nevada Cancer Institute over allegations they had pledged $11 million to the institute but gave only $600,000 of the pledge.

That suit later was closed under undisclosed circumstances, indicating it was settled.

Jim Rhodes, who is still dealing with the aftermath of thebankruptcy of Rhodes Design and Development in 2009, in the meantime has been working on acontroversial plan to develop some 3,000 acres off Blue Diamond Road, near the Red Rock National Conservation Area.

Glynda Rhodes, in the meantime, notes onher Facebook pageshe’s "single" and is CEO of Blackbook702, an event planning and talent agency; and of ID Interior Design.

Business

Share