Why the timing of Janet Jackson's split with billionaire husband is raising eyebrows

Wissam al Mana and Janet Jackson have called it quits. Photo / Getty

Reclusive musical superstar Janet Jackson shocked fans over the weekend as news surfaced that she'd split from third husband, Qatari billionaire Wissam Al Mana.

News of the split came just three months after the 50-year-old singer and her 42-year-old husband welcomed their first son, Eissa, into the world.

Janet Jackson and Wissam Al Mana in 2010. Photo / Getty

Jackson had last year cancelled all touring and musical commitments, telling fans that she needed to focus on her family.

"Sadly, Janet and Wissam have decided that it wasn't working and to go their separate ways.

"They're both busy people but determined to be good parents, even if they're apart," a source told the Mail On Sunday.

"It's amicable and Eissa will stay with his mother, who is basing herself in London."

As the news sinks in, fans are starting to speculate about how the couple's enormous wealth may be divided - Jackson herself is estimated to have a personal fortune of around $US 175 million thanks to her 30-year career as one of the biggest names in pop music.

But Qatari business magnate Al Mana has a fortune around four times greater than Jackson's, leaving many to ask if the pair had a prenuptual agreement - although a rep for Jackson stressed that the pair have at this stage separated, not filed for divorce.

Wissam Al Mana and Janet Jackson, 2012 in Moscow, Russia. Photo / Getty

TMZ reports that the pair most certainly had a prenup, and that such agreements are usually structured so that the longer the marriage, the bigger the settlement.

"Prenups typically have 5 and 10 year marks, which trigger more money in the pot to be divided," says TMZ - meaning that Jackson making it to the five-year mark could, under common prenup terms, be the benchmark for her to leave the marriage with a very large payday.

So exactly how long have Jackson and Al Mana been married?

While the intensely private pair didn't announce their wedding until February 2013, they actually wed a year before - meaning this split announcement comes five years and two months into their marriage.

Social media is currently having a field day with this piece of infomation...

#janetjackson ***marries Arab billionaire without a prenup...soon as the baby's umbilical cord is cut✌✌✌⬇ #RHOA pic.twitter.com/BMvqIheirT

— Petty King (@_pettyking) April 9, 2017