Earlier this week, several outlets including People reported that Seal had stopped wearing his wedding ring (and drew attention to that fact with chartreuse nail polish) while Heidi Klum still wore hers. At the time, Kaiser, CB, and myself decided that the story wasn’t worth covering by itself, but I’d like to now reflect briefly upon Seal’s eloquent speech on Ellen (made in late January) in response to why he was then still wearing his ring as “[A] token of how I feel about this woman. We have eight years. Eight wonderful years together … [R]ight now it feels really comfortable on my hand, so I have no intentions of taking it off anytime soon.” Just a few weeks later, Seal has apparently changed his tune, and I have to wonder whether it’s because he’s figured out that Heidi isn’t buying his public act of gentle, passive demeanor.

It’s rather hard to believe that it’s still been less than a month since the divorce rumors hit and Heidi and Seal announced their separation. Then we very quickly heard competing theories about the reason for the split, and much of the attention focused upon a Seal’s alleged emotional volatility. His ex-girlfriend, Tatjana Patitz, stepped up with a story about Seal’s violent temper during their late 1990s relationship, and we heard about how Seal had to be physically restrained by security after he pushed Heidi during a mid-January fight that took place right before the split. So the perception has been, rightfully or not, that Heidi and Seal’s marriage failed largely because of his anger issues.

This week’s issue of Star shifts the focus somewhat to Seal’s so-called “double life” and Heidi’s frustration therein. The tabloid refers to details from their prior story (which didn’t get much play at the time) that Heidi was shocked to discover Seal’s “hidden” criminal past from the 1980s when he was arrested for selling pot and “promoting prostitution by placing hookers’ numbers in public phone booths.” Star also adds details to existing accounts of Seal’s temper by claiming that (on at least one occasion) Seal’s temper caused his children to burst into tears. Now Heidi has reportedly decided to take their four children and move far away from Seal’s preferred homebase in Los Angeles:

Heidi Klum isn’t about to play nice when the wellbeing of her kids is at stake. Although the “Project Runway” host and her estranged spouse, Seal, had seemed to remain on amicable terms for the sake of their four kids, they are now gearing up for a fierce custody battle in the wake of shocking revelations about the “Kiss from a Rose” singer’s criminal past, Star has learned.

“The original agreement was that Heidi would have primary custody and Seal could visit at any time,” a source explains. “But since the breakup was announced, Heidi has been looking to pack up their home in Brentwood and go back to New York.”

There are good reasons Heidi wants to distance herself and her children from Seal, 49, who plans to keep L.A. as his permanent base, says the source. “She believes his lifestyle and criminal issues don’t provide a ‘conductive environment’ for their kids” — Henry, 6, Johan, 5, Lou, 2, and Leni, 7, Heidi’s daughter from a previous relationship, whom Seal adopted in 2009. His temper often raged out of control, as Star has reported, and “Seal pushed Heidi,” says the source. She was also rattled when, in 2010, Seal exploded at a staffer in front of the kids, the source adds, causing them to flee in tears.

And she’s been left reeling after learning about Seal’s sordid past. As Star recently revealed, he had multiple run-ins with the law before he met Heidi, including busts for drug trafficking and promoting prostitution, though he was not jailed. “Heidi had no idea,” says the source.

But now, she’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that their kids have a stable home. “She’s dumbfounded that Seal led a double life,” says the source. “Things are going to get nasty between them.”

[From Star, print edition, February 27, 2012]

As always, this is tricky material to analyze, and it’s particularly difficult in this case because there really are no public records on the internet about Seal’s prior troubles with the law that occurred — literally — decades ago. Obviously, that part of his life has been over for quite some time, and I’m not certain whether such distant offenses could be considered as leading a “double life.” Of course, Heidi has the right to feel blindsided if she never had the information beforehand, but it’s not like Seal has persisted within a chronic string of legal troubles all along.

Now the temper issues are worth getting worked up about and possibly even moving across the country when it comes to protecting Heidi and Seal’s children. Perhaps such a tactic will motivate Seal to sign up for anger management therapy, which would definitely be a good thing no matter how one spins it.

Photos courtesy of WENN