Behind Kim & Kanye’s breakup
Countless controversies, four children and eight years later, Kim and Kanye are over. We take a look at how it all unfolded
THEY seemed to have it all: glittering careers, gorgeous kids, magnificent mansions, a vast fortune, a phalanx of fans – and, for a while at least, real love. But in the world of the Kardashians, where everything is done in the glare of cameras and life is about as real as Kim’s bottom, things tend to implode. And usually, those things are relationships.
Kim and Kanye West are the latest casualty in a long list of break ups in the Kardashian-Jenner clan and no one except the most die-hard of head-in-the-sand fans can be all that surprised. The writing has been on the wall for a while and now it really looks like it’s over for good.
Kim has hired top divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, who also represented her when she split from basketball player Kris Humphries after 72 days of marriage. And Kanye isn’t contesting it.
The megastars have a prenuptial agreement in place and aren’t likely to contest how they split their combined $2,1 billion (R31,5bn) wealth and property.
They’ve also agreed to share custody of kids North (7), Saint (5), Chicago (3) and Psalm (1).
Yet as the dust settles, stories are emerging about the breakup: Kim discussing their marital problems on her family’s reality show against Kanye’s wishes, Kanye trying to sell some of the jewellery he bought her days before she filed for divorce, her political goals . . .
Here’s a look at a relationship that’s been both intriguing and gobsmacking.
IN THE BEGINNING
Kanye was smitten when he met Kim, who was working as a lowly assistant for singer Brandy back in 2003. Kim was married to music producer Damon Thomas at the time and as her star soared he became all the more enamoured, finally admitting his feelings in a song when she split from second husband Kris Humphries. They made their relationship Instagram official in 2012 and a year later North was born – an occasion Kanye marked by presenting Kim with a $770 000 (then R6,5 million) black and tiger stripe diamond ring. He proposed with a 15-carat diamond ring worth around $ 8m ( then R80m) and spared no expense for their $2,8m (then R32,2m) Italian showstopper wedding – guests were flown from Paris to Italy by private jet to watch Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli croon as the bride walked down the aisle.
THROUGH THICK & THIN
Kim shares practically everything about her life on social media and it was no different when she and Kanye experienced fertility problems. She told of the complications she had when pregnant with North and her battle to conceive again. After IVF she conceived a second time, but after Saint’s birth she needed five operations to repair the damage and doctors said she shouldn’t have any more kids. Desperate for a big family, they turned to a surrogate to carry Chicago and Psalm.
SIGNS OF TROUBLE
Serious cracks started to show when they argued during Kim’s 40th birthday party at an exclusive resort in Polynesia last October.
They were already leading separate lives – Kim and the kids in their California mansion, Kanye holed up at his ranch in Wyoming.
At the heart of their trouble was Kanye’s presidential campaign last year. Kim was appalled when he shared deeply personal things in a rally littered with bizarre outbursts. Chief among them was that Kim had wanted to abort daughter North.
Kanye, who has bipolar disorder, also claimed the family was trying to force him into psychiatric treatment against his will and called Kim’s mom, Kris Jenner, Kris Jong-un, a reference to the North Korean dictator.
Kanye was reportedly off his medication at the time and Kim stood by him when he publicly apologised for his rants.
“He’s a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, has to deal with the pressure and isolation that’s heightened by his bipolar disorder,” she wrote on social media. “Living with bipolar disorder doesn’t diminish or invalidate his dreams and creative ideas.”
THE SPLIT
In the end the pressures of lockdown coupled with Kanye’s mental health issues became too much. Insiders say Kim is “disappointed” they couldn’t find a way to stay married, while Kanye is now “resigned to reality.”
“What they want in life and for their kids doesn’t always match,” a source close to the couple says.
Kim, who aspires to be a lawyer like her late father Robert Kardashian, has become a force when it comes to prison reform in America. But those in her camp say her political aspirations have nothing to do with the split.
In the days leading up to their divorce, Kanye tried to sell some of the jewellery he bought her over the years because he didn’t want any reminders of their past.
He’s said to be less than thrilled their dirty laundry will be aired on TV, but insiders say he knows it’s business and “nothing personal”.
“He understands Kim’s side has to spin that she’s sick of him,” a source close to Kanye says. “In reality, he’s been sick of being involved with the Kardashians for a long while.”
THE FUTURE
STheir private life may be falling apart but the couple are showing no signs of losing steam as solo stars. Kim continues to launch new products and star in sexy lingerie campaigns, while Kanye’s fans hope he’ll channel the break-up into a new album. It’s unclear whether she’ll drop West from her name. Many of her products are branded under Kim Kardashian West, plus there are her kids to consider. “If she left it, it would be to share the same name as her kids. Her kids and their happiness are her main priority.”