The former partners of rappers 50 Cent and DMX have signed on to star in a new reality TV series.

Executives at U.S. network TLC are launching Starter Wives, about the women who "supported their former husbands/boyfriends before the fame and wealth made them the men they are today".

Shaniqua Tompkins, the mother of the In Da Club hitmaker's son Marquise, and Dmx's estranged wife Tashera Simmons will be among the scorned women welcoming cameras into their lives, alongside the former flames of boxing champ Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and basketball player Lamar Odom, who is now married to Khloe Kardashian.

Filming on the project is scheduled to begin later this month (Oct12), with the series expected to premiere in early 2013.