Oh, the saga of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. The relationship started in 2012, and though they seemed like a match made in heaven, the reality star, 41, and rapper’s romance would see its fair share of drama over the years.
Things looked like a fairytale from the outside, at first. They started a family soon after their relationship began in 2012, and wed in France in 2014. Though Kanye always treated Kim like a goddess, his erratic behavior began to strain their relationship in the mid-2010s. The KUWTK star supported him through major public feuds, political stunts, and bouts in the hospital but in the end, it was too much. The marriage ran its course by the end of 2020, leading to their 2021 divorce.
While their romance ended, the drama was far from over. Since their 2021 split, Kanye has begged for a reunion, bullied Kim’s new boyfriends, and made bombshell accusations against his ex and her family.
It’s a lot to wrap your head around, but luckily, we broke down the headlines and whipped up a detailed timeline of Kim and Kanye’s relationship for you. Learn everything about their marriage, divorce, and about how Kim is handling his current controversies here.
Kim’s Take
Kim has offered a bit of insight into the 2021 divorce via interviews and on the family reality show. The star has always tried to keep things respectful. She said Kanye will “always” be family during the June 2021 KUWTK reunion, calling him “my friend, first and foremost” and saying she will “forever be” his “biggest fan.”
The SKIMS mogul has also managed to keep a sense of humor about things. She poked fun at Kanye during her Oct. 2021 SNL hosting gig, telling audiences, “I married the best rapper of all time. He’s also the richest black man in America who gave me four amazing children. So when I divorce him, that means it comes down to just one thing….personality.” (Kanye did not take kindly to the bit, later ranting about the sketch show in a radio interview.)
Kim also mocked her own marriage misfortune during a toast to friend Simon Huck at his Nov. 2021 wedding. While celebrating the nuptials, she told guests, “I was a little bit confused because I haven’t really figured out this marriage thing myself, so I don’t know what kind of advice…I’m gonna give to you guys tonight.”
She was more brutal about the end during the final season of Keeping Up, where she confessed, “I just honestly can’t do this anymore. Why am I still in this place where I’m stuck for years?” Kim went on, saying, “I feel like a f**king failure. It’s my third f**king marriage. Yeah, I feel like a f–king loser. But I can’t even think about that. I want to be happy.”
Kanye’s Side
Kanye has made it clear he’s unhappy about the split since the start. He shared a poem about the split in Mar. 2021 after Kim was declared legally single. In it, he likened the heartbreak to full blown COVID.” “Divorce feels like heavy breathing,” Kanye wrote. “Divorce feels like suffocating. Barely breathing.”
When he premiered the Donda deluxe edition track “Never Abandon Your Family” at an event in July 2021, he put his pain on display by belting out, “I’m “losing my family” before a stadium full of fans. This, despite the fact Kim was in the audience supporting her ex with their kids.
After Kim made fun of him on SNL in Oct. 2021, he claimed the duo wasn’t even divorced. On the “Drink Champs” podcast in Nov. 2021, he said, “SNL making my wife say ‘I divorced him’ on TV because they just wanted to get that bar off, and I never have seen the papers. We’re not even divorced.”
After Kim began dating Pete Davidson, he started to attack Kim and her parenting. Still, Ye said he was waiting to reunite, telling Instagram followers, “I DON’T HAVE BEEF WITH KIM,” on Feb. 14, 2022. “I LOVE MY FAMILY SO STOP THAT NARRATIVE IM (sic) NOT GIVING UP ON MY FAMILY. I HAVE FAITH THAT WE’LL BE BACK TOGETHER.”
Kim & Kanye’s Kids
Amid the split, Kim has made it clear that the couple’s four children are her prime concerns. “We have an amazing co-parenting relationship and I respect him so much,” Kim told Andy Cohen during the final KUWTK reunion. “That was my friend, first and foremost, for a long time. I can’t see that going away. I will forever be Kanye’s biggest fan. He’s the father of my kids. He will always be family.”
Kanye has painted a different picture, claiming he is being kept away from his kids, while publicly criticizing Kim’s parenting choices. He accused Kim of “trying to antagonize” him by letting North use TikTok in a Jan. 2022 rant, and has repeatedly griped about the kids’ clothing.
Complaining about his role in the children’s lives, Kanye told Good Morning America in Sep. 2022, “It has to be co-parenting. It’s not up to only the woman. Like, men have a choice also. Men’s voices matter.” He also admitted that Kim raises the kids “80 percent of the time” in a Sep. 2022 podcast, but said he still gives his ex “advice.”
While the exact date of their first meeting is lost to time, Kim and Kanye were well-acquainted years before they became an item. Kim admitted that they met through a mutual friend Brandy in either 2002 or 2003, but it took Ye some time to even learn Kim’s name.
“He was recording a song with Brandy, and I was her friend. I vividly remember hanging out with him, and then they did a video together, so I’d see him a few times. He was asking his friends: ‘Who is this Kim Kardajan?’ He didn’t know what my name was,” she said in a KUWTK 10th anniversary special, via Us Weekly.
Kim & Kanye Became Friends: 2010s
Leading up to their debut as a couple, Kim and Kanye were quite friendly (and flirty). For example, they were spotted in New York City in October of 2010 when Kanye met up with Kim while she filmed Keeping Up With the Kardashians. At the time, she was rumored to be dating model Gabriel Aubry, while Kanye had just ended his relationship with Amber Rose.
Before the relationship began, Kim spoke about the possibility of them ending up together, after Kanye rapped about her ex Kris Humphries. The day after the song was released, Kim responded to the track during an interview on Today, saying, “Kanye and I have been friends for years, and you never know what the future holds or where my life will take me. I like the song.”
Kim’s Marriage To Kris Humphries: Aug. to Oct. 2011
Kim married NFL player Kris in Aug. 2011, but the union seemed doomed from the start. They filled for an annulment just 72 days after shooting the E! special Kim’s Fairytale Wedding and she was with Kanye not long after.
The rapper clearly had some feelings for Kim in the years before they got together. Kanye even rapped about his future wife in a verse from his 2012 Cruel Summer series “Cold.” In the song, the Grammy-winner rapped, “And I’ll admit, I fell in love with Kim/Around the same time she had fell in love with him.”
Years after Kim and Kanye ended up together, he revealed that he tried to get his future wife to call off the engagement in a 2016 interview on Kocktails with Khloe. He revealed that the engagement made him buy a phone. “I got a phone because somebody decided they wanted to marry Kris Humphries,” he said. “I started sending her pictures of certain basketball players that used to be cool that now they wear their pants like all the way up here.”
Kim Attends Kanye’s Paris Fashion Show: Mar. 2012
It’s unclear exactly when Kim and Kanye’s very first date was, but the pair went public with their romance in 2012. They were spotted smiling away while on an ice cream date in New York City.
Kim did say that after her divorce from Kris, one of the key moments in the pair connecting was a fashion show that Yeezy organized. “After my breakup, I was feeling really low and down and he said, ‘Just come to Paris and see my fashion show.’ He jokes that he put on this whole fashion show just to get a date with me. So I went there and I stayed with him, and that’s where we started dating,” she said during the KUWTK 10th anniversary special.
Kim & Kanye’s First Met Gal: May 2013
Kim’s first appearance at fashion’s biggest night was when she was also pregnant with her first daughter North. The pair sported Givenchy outfits, and Kim looked beautiful in the stunning floral print dress. The outfit also had her baby bump on full display as they posed for photos on the red carpet.
North Is Born: Jun. 2013
Kimye welcomed their first child together, daughter North West on June 15, 2013. Kanye was first to announce the couple’s first pregnancy during a concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey in late 2012.
Kim later confirmed the news, writing on social media, “It’s true!! Kanye and I are expecting a baby. We feel so blessed and lucky and wish that in addition to both of our families, his mom and my dad could be here to celebrate this special time with us. Looking forward to great new beginnings in 2013 and to starting a family. Happy New Year!!!” Their baby girl was born a few weeks ahead of her anticipated due date.
Kanye Proposes: Oct. 2013
Kanye proposed to Kim at Giants Stadium in front of her family and closest friends on her 33rd birthday, Oct. 21, 2013. Ye’, who got down on one knee in the middle of the outfield, rented out AT&T Park Stadium in San Francisco for the event.
For the proposal Ye’ coordinated a 50-piece orchestra, which played Lana Del Rey‘s “Young and Beautiful,” along with one of his own songs, “Knock You Down.” He popped the question with a square-cut, 15-carat diamond ring before Kim’s friends and family rushed out of the stadium’s dugouts to surprise her. “Please marry me” was blasted on the Jumbotron at the stadium.
Kim & Kanye’s ‘Vogue’ Cover: Mar. 2014
While gearing up for their 2014 wedding, Kim and Kanye posed on the cover of Vogue, with Kim in a gorgeous wedding dress, while the “Jesus Walks” rapper held his arms around her waist. In the interview, the pair spoke about their then-newborn daughter North and how excited they were to wed each other.
The pair were also clearly so in love and excited about their relationship and their projects together. “She created something really powerful that the universe connected with, and I created something that people connect with, and then when we combine our information … we can help communicate and educate and just bring more dopeness in general,” Kanye said about what to expect, via MTV. “It’s really just about dopeness at the end of the day.”
Kimye Wed In Europe: May 2014
Kimye flew to their favorite destination, Paris with family and friends, where they enjoyed days of celebrations, while touring the lavish city and eating the finest cuisine. The celebrations led to the couple’s over-the-top wedding ceremony in Florence, Italy, on May 24, 2014, that featured a massive flower wall.
Saint Is Born: Dec. 2015
Kim gave birth to their second child, a baby boy named Saint West on December 5, 2015. She took to her website to reveal the exciting news, where Kim let fans know that both she and the baby were doing well. The couple revealed their baby boy’s name two days later.
Before conceiving Saint, Kim told her sister Khloe Kardashian during a March 2015 episode of KUWTK that she and Ye have “been having sex 500 times a day” to try and conceive their second child.
Kanye’s ‘Famous’ Taylor Swift Feud: 2016
When Kanye’s feud with Taylor Swift was reignited over a line in his 2016 song “Famous,” Kim came to her husband’s defense, saying that the Reputation popstar gave Kanye the thumbs up for song.
“She totally approved that,” Kim told GQ in June 2016. “She totally knew that that was coming out. She wanted to all of a sudden act like she didn’t. I swear, my husband gets so much s**t for things [when] he really was doing proper protocol and even called to get it approved.” Kim later leaked the video of the call on Snapchat.
Kim’s Paris Robbery: Oct. 2016
On October 3, 2016, Kim was tied up by masked robbers who broke into her Paris hotel room during Paris Fashion Week. At the time, Kim was alone, as her security was out with sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner. The robbers placed Kim in the bathtub while they raided her hotel room and stole thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, cell phones and other valuables. Kanye, who was not with Kim at the time she was robbed, hurried to her side upon news of the incident.
The My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy rapper halted a concert as part of the Meadows Music and Arts Festival in New York to fly to Kim. The couple later flew, via private jet, back to their New York City apartment as soon as they were cleared by police to leave the scene of the crime.
Following the robbery, Kim changed her lifestyle and became more private, as she noted during a later appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Kim explained that she wouldn’t post in real time on her social media, wear jewelry in public, or share lavish details about her life with the public. The robbers were later identified and arrested by police.
Kanye Is Hospitalized After Breakdown: Nov. 2016
Kanye experienced a mental breakdown in November of 2016, which started at one of his packed concerts when he went on a rant about his friendship with Beyonce and JAY-Z. At the time, Ye’ claimed the hip hop couple didn’t reach out to him after the birth of one of his kids. The rapper’s breakdown led to an estimated 9-day hospitalization at UCLA Medical Center.
Kanye later acknowledged the breakdown in a 2018 interview with Charlamagne Tha God. “I think I’m in a stronger place than I ever was, after the breakdown — or I like to say the breakthrough,” Kanye said at the time. The father of four went on to explain that the breakdown was brought on by “fear, stress, control, being controlled, manipulation… stressing things that create, like, validation that I didn’t need to worry about as much. And y’know, just the concept of competition,” he explained in part.
Kanye’s TMZ Rant: May 2018
Kanye faced one of his biggest controversies in May of 2018, after saying these words during a visit at the TMZ newsroom: “When you hear about slavery for 400 years, for 400 years? That sounds like a choice.”
The comment rocked the country, and Kanye even seemed to reference Kim’s reaction on his album Ye, which he dropped after the shocking interview. “Wife calling screaming saying we’re about to lose it all I had to calm her down ‘cos she couldn’t breathe / I told her she could leave me now but she wouldn’t leave,” Kanye rapped on the track “Wouldn’t Leave,” which was about his marriage with Kim.
Chicago Is Born: Jan. 2018
Kimye welcomed their third child and second daughter, Chicago West on January 15, 2018, via surrogate. The KKW Beauty founder was candid about suffering from preeclampsia during her first two pregnancies, which is why the couple turned to surrogacy to expand their family.
“We are incredibly grateful to our surrogate who made our dreams come true with the greatest gift one could give and to our wonderful doctors and nurses for their special care,” Kim wrote on her app at the time.
Psalm Is Born: May 2019
The couple welcomed their fourth child and second son, Psalm Westvia gestational carrier on May 10, 2019. “He’s here and he’s perfect!” Kim announced on Twitter at the time.
Kanye’s Campaign Kick-Off: Jul. 2020
Kanye reveals he and Kim considered aborting their first pregnancy while announcing the start of his presidential campaign with an emotional Charleston, South Carolina rally on Jul. 19, 2020. In the rambling, four-hour speech, he also bizarrely claimed that abolitionist Harriet Tubman “never actually freed the slaves” and promised to release anyone “in jail for marijuana.”
Kim Defends Kanye As Bipolar: Summer 2020
Kanye followed his campaign kick-off with a series of bizarre tweets on Jul. 20, 2020, marking the start of what Kim later admitted was due to his “bipolar disorder.” Kim released an official statement on July 22 that addressed her husband’s “compulsive behavior.” She asked society, along with the media and public “to give us the compassion and empathy that is needed so that we can get through this.” Kim also noted in part that although Kanye — who she called “brilliant” — “lives with bi-polar disorder” the condition “does not diminish or invalidate his dreams and his creative ideas.”
During his Twitter rant, in one tweet, Kanye claimed his wife “was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like to movie Get Out.” Also included in Ye’s rant was a since-deleted tweet about his mother-in-law, Kris Jenner, which read: “Kriss don’t play with me you and that calmye are not allowed around my children. Ya’ll tried to lock me up.”
More wild tweets by the rapper followed — he even wrote that he’s been “trying to get divorced” since Kim met with Meek Mill about “prison reform.” All of this prompted Kim to speak out, despite being very private about Kanye’s mental health to protect his privacy, as well as their children’s.
Kim Flies To Wyoming, Kanye Apologizes: Late Summer 2020
Kanye immediately apologized to Kim and asked for her forgiveness in a tweet in July of 2020, and Kim even flew out to Wyoming, where her husband had been staying at the time. Kim was pictured crying while talking with her husband inside a car, and despite the drama and tears, the spouses put their marital issues aside to take their four children on vacations throughout August of 2020. The family first made a getaway to the Dominican Republic, and then went glamping in Colorado.
Despite these happy appearances on social media, Kanye resumed posting tweets that made headlines in September of 2020. One of them contained a video that appeared to show Kanye literally peeing on one of his Grammy trophies, after calling out his music publisher Sony/ATV Music Publishing and record label Universal Music Group.
Around that same time, HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY learned from a source that “as far as the future, [Kim’s] still weighing all options, but she doesn’t want to leave Kanye at a time when he’s struggling. She tells everyone Kanye is her soulmate and she really does love him more than anything,” the source added. “The whole situation is sad.”
Kimye Spends Christmas Apart: Dec. 2020
Even though it seemed like the pair had put differences aside, the pair notably spent Christmas 2020 apart. While the annual Kar-Jenner Christmas Eve extravaganza was pared down to family only due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kanye was noticeably absent from the festivities held at Kourtney Kardashian‘s Calabasas mansion. Kim posed alongside her sisters Kourt, 41, Kendall Jenner, 25, Kylie Jenner, 23, mom Kris Jenner and Kimye’s four children in photos from the family party, but Kanye was not present for the celebration. He reportedly spent the holidays in Wyoming at his ranch, away from his wife and children.
Kanye also skipped out on the Kar-Jenner pre-Christmas trip to Lake Tahoe, where Kim posed along with her entire “fam,” including Kourtney’s ex Scott Disick and Kris’ boyfriend Corey Gamble, who were included in the vacation. But Kanye was absent and his lack of presence with his wife, kids and her family was not explained. At this point, Kim and Kanye had not been photographed together since an Oct. 2020, while on make or break getaway to the Dominican Republic.
Divorce Speculation Starts: Jan. 2021
Just five days into 2021, three reports surfaced that the couple’s marriage was in dire straits. “They are keeping it low-key but they are done. Kim has hired (divorce lawyer) Laura Wasser and they are in settlement talks,” Page Six reported on Jan. 5, 2021. The site added that “divorce is imminent” after Kim hired the divorce attorney to the stars, who has repped such big names as Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, Heidi Klum and Gwen Stefani in their splits.
“Now this divorce is happening because Kim has grown up a lot,” the source explained, saying “She is serious about taking the bar exam and becoming a lawyer, she is serious about her prison reform campaign. Meanwhile Kanye is talking about running for president and saying other crazy s***, and she’s just had enough of it.”
The publication also noted Kanye had grown tired of the family’s over-the-top, lavish reality TV lifestyle as “unbearable” and that “He is completely over the entire family…He wants nothing to do with them.” Later that day PEOPLE reported that Kanye knows that the end of his marriage is near. “He knows that she’s done. She has had enough, and she told him that she wants some space to figure out her future,” a source told the publication, adding, “He’s okay. He’s sad, but okay. He knows the inevitable will happen, and he knows that it’s coming soon.”
Meanwhile, TMZ reported on Jan. 5 that Kim and Kanye were in counseling and that while their marriage was in trouble, Kim had decided to put their issues aside until after the holidays. The site reported that Kim had Wasser “on retainer for years for various reasons, and the subject of divorce was discussed months ago, but Kim never gave the green light to file,” mainly due to the fact that the pair has four very young children.
Kim Files For Divorce: Feb. 2021
Kim officially filed for divorce from her husband of nearly seven years on February 19, 2021, according to TMZ. Kim reportedly asked for joint physical and legal custody of her and Kanye’s four children. At the time, the split was reported to be “amicable” between the two.
Kim Supports Kanye’s ‘Donda’ Listening Parties: July 2021
With Kanye gearing up to release his 10th album Donda in July 2021, he held a series of listening parties, and even though Kim and Kanye had been split up for months, she still showed support for him and went to a ton of his events to cheer him on. Before the album dropped, Kanye had reportedly given Kim a private listening party of one of album’s more personal tracks. When he hosted the first public listening event in at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Georgia, Kim was also in attendance, wearing a red outfit that matched the rapper. The couple’s kids attended the second listening party with their mom, and Kim even got involved in the theatrics at a subsequent performance, when she sported a wedding dress at one of the shows.
One of Kanye’s largest gestures to try to win Kim back came at his Free Larry Hoover concert, which he co-headlined with Drake. After performing his hit “Runaway,” Kanye sang an emotional plea to his estranged wife. “Baby, I need you to run right back to me…more specifically, Kimberly,” he said in the December show.
Kim Starts Dating Pete Davidson: Late 2021
Months after the divorce, Kim began a relationship with Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson. The pair’s romance was first reported shortly after Kim made her hosting debut on SNL, and the couple was spotted out holding hands together. Kanye has made it clear that he’s been incredibly upset about Kim’s newfound romance. He’s posted numerous rants calling out the comic on his Instagram, even giving him the nickname “Skete.”
Kim Files To Be Legally Single: Dec. 2021
The day after the emotional concert moment, Kim filed her request to be declared legally single and drop “West” from her last name in court. A source close to Kim revealed to HollywoodLife exclusively that the “Runaway” ad-lib was her tipping point. “Kim hit her boiling point at the Kanye concert on Thursday night and as soon as he put her on the spot and embarrassed her in front of their kids and her family by saying ‘Run back to me Kimberly,’” they said.
“She contacted her lawyer immediately. She didn’t see any other choice. Kanye is not only upsetting Kim and her family, but he is confusing their children with the things he is saying her kids are getting older and beginning to understand what he’s saying and what is going on.” Despite filing the request in December, Kim wasn’t granted the legally single status until March 2022.
Kanye Threatens Pete In Music Video: Jan. 2022
One of Kanye’s most notable attacks on Pete came with his song “Eazy” in early 2022. The song had the lyric, “God saved me from the crash/Just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s a**.” Other than the violent rhyme, Kanye released two graphic videos showing him attacking Pete. One was a claymation clip that depicted the rapper decapitating and burying him. A second video depicts a hairless monkey attacking a stand-in for him.
Kanye Makes Custody Claims, Kim Claps Back: Mar. 2022
As the pair’s divorce has continued, Kanye has made many public gripes about the time he gets to spend with his kids, as well as disagreements he’s had about some of his older children using social media. Kanye claimed that Kim was “stopping” him from bringing his kids to Chicago for a basketball game in January 2022. He also called out Kim, saying that the kids’ schedules were changed on him abruptly in a March 14 Instagram post.
Even though the Late Registration rapper has brought his issues with their custody arrangements to light, Kim has pushed back on him on a number of occasions. After one of Kanye’s posts, Kim commented to ask him to push a narrative that he hasn’t been allowed to see his kids. “Please stop with this narrative, you were just here this morning picking up the kids for school,” she wrote. Kim also admitted that she’s “open and honest” with her kids about everything going on with her ex, during an ABC special interview.
Pete Davidson Reaches Out: Mar. 2022
Despite all of Kanye’s public outbursts against his ex’s new boyfriend, Pete sent the rapper a text to tell him to cut out his attacks on the couple March 2022. “I’ve decided I’m not gonna let you treat us this way anymore and I’m done being quiet. Grow the f**k up,” he wrote, before sending Kanye a selfie that he claimed was taken in bed with Kim.
Even though Pete seemed to be tired of Kanye’s rants against him, he did extend an olive branch and offer to talk out their issues. “Let me help you man. I struggle with mental stuff too,” he wrote. “There’s no shame in having a little help.”
Kim & Pete Split: Aug. 2022
Things end between Kim and Pete in Aug. 2022. Kanye’s harassment wasn’t the main factor in the breakup. “There were a lot of things stacked against them,” a source told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY at the time, adding while Kayne wasn’t “the reason they broke up” his “antics certainly didn’t help them.”
“Ultimately, Pete is a great guy and they had a magical time but he was also on the heels of her messy divorce with Kanye, which is still not over,” the source said. “Kim needs to wrap up loose ends in her life before moving forward with a man who wants her to be the center of his world.”
Kanye’s White Lives Matter Stunt: Oct. 2022
Kanye caused one of his biggest controversies of all time when he presented a Paris Fashion Week collection featuring clothes bearing the phrase “White Lives Matter.” After getting backlash from many in the fashion community, Ye went on a tirade targeting critics like Hailey Bieber, Gigi Hadid, Diddy, and ex-sister-in-law Khloe Kardashian.
Kim was “utterly disgusted” by the stunt, according to an insider who spoke to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. She was especially offended by his appearance with right-wing pundit Candace Owens at the show. The star reportedly “lost it” when she saw Ye and Candace together. The DailyWire talking head previously accused Kim and her mom Kris Jenner of orchestrating the sale of her 2007 sex tape.
Kim and Kanye Finalize Their Divorce: Nov. 2022
The former couple finalized their divorce on Nov. 29, 2022, a source close to the family confirmed to HollywoodLife. The final settlement, reported by TMZ, shows that Kim and Kanye will get joint custody with “equal access” to their four children, including daughters North, 9, and Chicago, 4, and sons Saint, 6, and Psalm, 3. Kanye will also reportedly pay Kim $200,000 a month in child support. He’s also responsible for 50% of their kids’ educational expenses, including tuition, as well as 50% of their children’s security expenses.
The settlement also reveals that if the mother and father ever get into a dispute regarding their kids, they will participate in mediation, the outlet further reported. If one of them fails to participate, the other gets to make the decision in a dispute by default. They both waived spousal support in their prenup, which included how to divide their assets.