I’m used to checking Instagram and going “WTF!!” when I see headlines about Scott Disick dating someone new. But a few days ago, when I opened the app for the 78th time that day, I saw post after post saying that Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker were an item.
I seriously had about 100 thoughts right away… like, wow, Kourt and Travis are kinda maybe an even hotter couple than MGK and Megan Fox… and, more importantly, how TF did they even meet?? On top of that, like any loyal Kardashian fan, I know Kourtney’s dating history is short and sweet… so any man she brings around to date must be the real deal and Poosh approved.
And because I had a choice between doing laundry or answering all my burning questions, I chose to do a deep dive on the new couple (duh). And it turns out, their story is classic friends-turned-lovers.
TL;DR? Here’s what you need to know: Kourtney and Travis have been regularly liking each other’s Instagram posts since mid-2017, with Travis heating things up in Kourtney’s Instagram comments as of November 2020. And although they sparked dating rumors in 2018 after being pictured together time after time, an insider confirmed with People on January 24, 2021 that they two are dating, but only as of the past couple months.
For the full and juicy timeline, this breakdown starts off like any good Kardashian story: with Paris Hilton.
Travis’ first foray into the Kardashian empire was in 2006 when he was introduced to Kim by Paris while all three were in Amsterdam. At the time he was dating Paris, but he admitted in an interview with Us Weekly in 2015 that he immediately had a crush on Kim after meeting her (c’mon, ’00s Kim was drop-dead, so can you blame him?).
He also went on to say that Kim had asked him for advice on a little reality show she and her family may be doing… you know, the one that ended up becoming KUWTK? Although he seems like a random person to speak to on that topic, Travis and his ex-wife Shanna Moakler had done an MTV reality show called Meet the Barkers from 2005-06, so the question actually totally made sense.
Fast forward over the next couple of years, and according to Us Weekly, Travis and Kim started hanging out back in California… which is probably how he and his kids got in touch with the rest of the family. This actually makes sense because they all lived (and still live) in the same Calabasas community, so getting to know Kourtney, Khloé, and the rest of the Ks would have been pretty damn convenient.
Around 2016 is when the rumors and friendship between Kourtney and Travis really started to heat up, so here’s an ultimate breakdown of their friendship/relationship timeline.
May 2016
Travis made his first public mention of Kourtney while on the ill-fated Kocktails with Khloé, saying he sometimes runs into Kourt and Khloé at the gym.
November 2017
Travis appeared in a KUWTK Christmas Special. Although Travis had made appearances in previous episodes, in this particular one, he and his kids were invited to Kourtney’s house for Christmas activities alongside Kim and Larsa Pippen.
August 2018
Kourtney posted a pic on Instagram riding a bike, and Travis commented a couple of seemingly harmless emojis (but, I mean, are Instagram comments ever truly harmless??). Following that, the internet did what it does best and read into it, starting rumors that the two were romantically linked.
September 2018 – November 2018
Following the August 2018 Instagram comment, Kourtney and Travis sparked more and more dating rumors when they were seen and pictured around LA on a few occasions. Most of this was paparazzi shots of them attending a Hillsong church service, as well as eating at an LA restaurant called Crossroads together a couple times.
December 2018
Kourtney and Travis were pictured taking their kids on a super cute playdate to get ice cream in LA. Stars, I guess, do do normal stuff just like us.
February 2019
The pair was photographed attending Kanye’s Sunday Service together, and then driving in Malibu afterward with Kourtney at the wheel. This is a total side note, but I have to ask: is it RIP Kardashian attendance at Sunday Service now that Kim and Kanye are separating??
March 2019
With all the paparazzi shots of them together, it wasn’t a shocker that the media wanted to know if Kourtney and Travis were truly a couple. But when asked about their relationship at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards, Travis told People, “Kourtney’s like a dear friend. That’s it. I mean, I love her to death. I love her family to death. But yeah, just friends.” Really Travis? Couldn’t you just let the internet dream about the KK+TB fantasy a little longer??
November 2020 – January 2021
Between November 2 to January 26, Travis liked over 50 of Kourtney’s Instagram posts and commented on eight. The comments have definitely ranged from innocent/friendly to damn, these two are SO entangled… he’s used everything from the fire, mermaid, party hat, rose and christmas tree emojis. The one standout? A comment with actual words on January 5th when Kourtney posted a pic of the film True Romance. He said, “You’re So Cool” (which honestly, I can’t argue with).
And throwing her likes isn’t just a recent thing. He’s actually been regularly liking her photos since mid 2017, and before that, he was double tapping more periodically. On the other side of this, Kourtney hasn’t been commenting on his posts, but has liked a ton of his photos since summer 2017.
January 24, 2021
As you know, the internet has better detectives than the FBI, and people pieced together from Kourtney’s Instagram post and Travis’ stories that Kourtney and Travis were both at Kris Jenner’s Palm Springs house together.
January 24, 2021
Although Kourtney and Travis haven’t publicly DTR’d, an insider told People, “They’re in Palm Springs together. They’ve been dating for about a month or two.” Seriously, kudos to Travis for being part of the 1% who’s able to move out of the friend zone and into the… well, you know.
Here’s my conclusion: I don’t think the Kardashian team (Kris) would allow any insider to speak to the media unless Kourtney and Travis were truly dating. And I completely predict that they’ll last for the next year at least, because they have a ton in common: they both have kids, live in Calabasas, and judging from their restaurant choices, both eat vegan (at least, from time to time).
I’ll leave this off with two things: (1) I’m PRAYING that Travis makes an appearance in this last KUWTK season, and; (2) as a self-proclaimed Kardashian superfan, I’m 1000% here for Kourtney and Travis’ hotness and hope we get much, much more juicy content from them together.
Images: Dimitrios Kambouris / Staff/Getty Images; kourtneykardash, travisbarker / Instagram
