LOS ANGELES, USA (AP) - Larry King filed for divorce on Wednesday shortly before his seventh wife also sought to end the couple's nearly 13-year-old marriage.

The 76-year-old host of CNN's Larry King Live filed hours before Shawn King filed her own petition. Both cited "irreconcilable differences".

Although she is King's seventh wife, it is the eighth time the septuagenarian television personality has filed for a divorce. He was twice married and divorced to Alene Akins, with whom he split in 1972.The couple were married in a hospital room in 1997 three days before Larry King underwent surgery to clear a clogged *lo** vessel. They have two sons, ages 11 and 9. The petitions differ in that Larry King is seeking joint custody, while his 50-year-old wife wants physical custody.

Larry King is also asking a judge not to award his wife any spousal support and to invalidate an agreement in which he transferred property to her, court records show.

Shawn King's petition seeks spousal support from her husband, along with ownership of the couple's home in Beverly Hills, California, and two properties in Utah.

"His major concern is the welfare of his children," said Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for Larry King, adding that the talk-show host would not comment further on the divorce.