Uncoupling of Kim and Kanye
Tales of an uber celeb marriage gone wrong.
HOLOGRAMS and Twitter rants, roving gospel gatherings and billion-dollar business ventures.
If there’s one word that defines the lives of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West, it’s BIG.
As their nearly seven-year marriage comes to an end, here’s a look back on the uber celebrity coupling of the rapper, Yeezy king and failed presidential candidate with the sex tape survivor turned reality star who has a head for business and a passion for prison reform.
The lead-up
The two became pals after meeting in 2003, when Kardashian was an assistant to the pop staractor Brandy and West was around to record a song. Brandy, FYI, is the sister of Ray J, the guy who Kardashian had sex with in the leaked video that vaulted her from C-lister to one of the hugest celebrities of her generation.
Kardashian and West publicly came out as dating in 2012. The oldest of their four children, North, was born in June 2013, not long after Kardashian’s divorce from Kris Humphries (her second husband) was finalised. The over-thetop Tuscan wedding of Kardashian and West, her third and his first, unfolded on May 24, 2014.
But before the wedding – which included pre-parties in Paris – there was the surprise proposal.
West rented out the San Francisco Giants’ oceanfront stadium and presented Kardashian with a 15-carat Lorraine Schwartz sparkler.
The ceremony
They sealed the deal at Belvedere Fort in Florence, Italy, the city where North was conceived. They paid US$410,000 to rent the place built in 1590, a spokeswoman for the Florence mayor’s office said.
Kardashian walked down the aisle on the arm of step-parent Caitlyn Jenner as Andrea Bocelli sang to their 200 guests, including John Legend, Jaden Smith and Steve McQueen, the director of Kanye’s 2016 video for his single All Day.
There was a wall of flowers as a backdrop, a seven-tier cake and a 224-foot (68m) marble table hoisted in by crane and put on a platform so all could see the stunning Florence skyline.
Kardashian wore a long-sleeve, lacy Givenchy gown designed by friend Riccardo Tisci for the ceremony.
Social media and the Wests
Social media doesn’t always go well for West. He has ranted. A lot. He used it to announce his presidential bid last year, with another run announced on Election Day 2020 for 2024. For Kardashian, it’s the place where she sells stuff. A lot.
Most recently, it’s been the Skims shapewear and leisure line she launched last year. That’s the brand she originally called Kimono. Kardashian changed the name after outrage over cultural appropriation of the traditional Japanese robe.
She has used social media in defense of West when he goes off the rails. And she reaches out with family photos, happy birthdays to friends and in support of her work to free prison inmates, including Alice Marie Johnson.
It was Johnson’s case that took Kardashian to the White House in 2018 for a meeting arranged by Jared Kushner to persuade then-President Donald Trump to commute Johnson’s drug conspiracy sentence. He did.
After donning a red MAGA hat, West also made an appearance at the White House soon after Kardashian that year, meeting with Trump and dropping an F-bomb during a hyper monologue that, for a change, left Trump fairly speechless.
Also in 2018: West stopped by TMZ headquarters to declare 400 years of slavery was a choice.
It wasn’t until last year that Kardashian addressed her husband’s erratic behavior and struggles with mental illness.
“I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions,” she said on Instagram.
“He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artiste and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bipolar disorder.
“Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words sometimes do not align with his intentions.”
The gifting
He has showered his wife with jewels, a hand-painted Birkin bag, stock in blue chip companies and a stake in his own Yeezy brand. But one gift stands out: a hologram of her late father, Robert Kardashian, during her 40th birthday bash on an undisclosed island in the middle of the pandemic last October.
As Kim Kardashian, family members and close friends partied beachside, hologram dad in a tan suit against a sparkly background of black and midnight blue spoke of being proud of the woman and mother she has become, particularly her studies to become a lawyer like himself, along with her support of his native Armenia.
There was also a plug for West from the great beyond: “You married the most, most, most, most, most genius man in the whole world, Kanye West.”
The stakes
Yes, they were a power couple, but West was successful in music before Kardashian came along and the two have made truckloads of money separately. Together, Forbes estimates, their combined net worth is in the US$2.1bil (RM8.4bil) range. Some crunch the numbers in his favour.
Forbes said their biggest assets are independently owned and operated businesses. West has made it big in shoes, and Kardashian rolls out beauty and attire on a regular basis. She also earned millions through the reality show that launched the family,
Keeping Up With The Kardashians. It’s a show he reportedly wanted little to do with.
Kardashian’s sale of a 20% stake in KKW Beauty to giant Coty for US$200mil (RM800mil) was completed this year.
There’s also real estate and the mansion the two lavishly laboured to trick out in Calabasas, California, along with their two Wyoming
ranches.