Model and designer Kimora Lee Simmons is once again a married woman, and has been for quite some time.

This confirmation of the model’s new status was made by her ex-husband, music mogul Russell Simmons, who posted on Twitter that Kimora is now happily married, and that “Tim has been family for a while now.” The tweet was to dispel the rumors that his ex-wife was seeing rapper Birdman.

“Tim” refers to investment banker Tim Leissner, who has been linked to Lee for the past year. He had also been seen vacationing with Lee, Simmons, and their daughters last December in St. Barts. Lee and Leissner were spotted wearing rings on their left ring fingers. The situation may present itself as somewhat odd, but the ex-couple, who were officially divorced in 2009, are actually cool about it.

All of us love @OfficialKimora but the fact is she is happily married. . Tim is has been family for a while now. #gossipcop….

— Russell Simmons (@UncleRUSH) February 19, 2014

Lee was a 17-year-old model when she first met Simmons during New York Fashion Week in 1992. They married in 1998, but ten years later Lee filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2009.

Lee believed that relationships do change, but she always thought of relationships as “changing and evolving rather than starting and stopping,” which explains her amicable bond with Simmons. Lee and Simmons have two children together, Ming and Aoki.

It’s not the first time that Simmons defended Lee from rumors, either. When gossip circulated in 2012 that Lee and her then-boyfriend actor Dijimon Hounsou were having problems, he wrote on his website that the two were fine. Lee and Hounsou split up later that year. Lee and Hounsou never married but participated in a traditional Benin commitment ceremony in 2008, and have a son named Kenzo.

What remains a mystery is when Lee and Leissner first got together and when they tied the knot, because ever since her split with Hounsou, Lee was not seen going out on dates, and appeared to be very much single.

Image via YouTube