Waking up in America this morning, it was like a new day had dawned. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the Senate was flipped, and most importantly, we’re finally living in a post-Kimye society. Okay, I’m getting ahead of myself. On Tuesday evening, Page Six reported via multiple sources that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are breaking up, and that Kim is planning to file for divorce.
This news obviously spread like wildfire, but as of now we haven’t gotten any official confirmation. With a story like this, there’s a 50/50 chance that the “multiple sources” are Kris Jenner and Kris Jenner’s other phone, but this could also be a completely false story to promote like, the new Kardashian shows on Hulu or whatever. Only time will tell, but there are certainly factors that would make this one of the least surprising things that could happen. We’ve discussed some of the trouble signs in their relationship before, but now that it looks like we really might be at the end of the Yeezy Brick Road, let’s look at where it all went wrong.
Kim’s Style
One thing that everyone knows about Kanye’s relationship with Kim is that he basically overhauled her personal style. In 2018, Kim said at a Business of Fashion panel, “I always thought I had really good style until I met my husband and he told me that I had the worst style.” She recounted how, early in their relationship, he cleaned out her closet, and she recalled, “I probably had 250 pairs of shoes and when we were done cleaning it out, I had two pairs left and I cried.” Hear that? That’s toxic energy. It’s totally normal for your style to be influenced by the people around you, but throwing away all of your shoes because a man told you to is completely different.
And this wasn’t just one-time thing. In an episode of KUWTK from 2018, Kim said that Kanye was policing her sunglass habits, telling her in an email “you cannot wear big glasses anymore. It’s all about tiny little glasses.” In a 2019 episode of the show, Kanye criticized Kim’s photo poses, saying “You are my wife and it affects me when pictures are too sexy.” While Kim insisted that Kanye always gave her “the freedom to be and do what I want,” some of the actual evidence from their relationship suggests otherwise. It’s one thing to value your partner’s input, but this style stuff is some controlling bullsh*t, and it’s only a matter of time before someone doesn’t want to put up with that anymore.
Wyoming
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Let’s be real: Kim Kardashian has no desire to live in Wyoming. She’s a Calabasas queen through and through, and the thought of her leaving behind her entire world in LA to live full-time (or even most of the time) at the ranch seems unfathomable. Kanye, on the other hand, seems to thrive in the relative isolation of the Cowboy State, and according to Page Six, this physical distance between them is by design. Kanye reportedly spent the holidays in Wyoming rather than with his family, and the source says “Kim got Kanye to go up there so they could live separate lives and quietly get things sorted out to separate and divorce.” It seems kind of sh*tty that Kanye likely didn’t get to see his kids over the holidays, but the California/Wyoming divide would be an easy way to keep unpleasant interactions to a minimum during a separation period.
Kanye’s Presidential Campaign
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) July 5, 2020
It’s barely been six months since Kanye West announced his 2020 campaign for President, but already it feels like some kind of distant fever dream. While Kanye spent the latter half of 2020 halfheartedly selling his soul for what ended up amounting to 70,000 votes, Kim seemed to ignore her husband’s campaign almost entirely. Other than quoting Kanye’s initial announcement tweet with an American flag emoji—a vague endorsement at best—Kim never spoke publicly about the campaign or used her platform to show any kind of support. It’s not a novel concept for couples to have political disagreements, but to spend five months pretending your spouse’s Presidential campaign doesn’t exist isn’t your average dinner table argument. If Kim was already growing tired of Kanye’s often outlandish behavior, it seems likely that the campaign could have been one of the final straws.
Kim’s Birthday Trip
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Kim’s much-maligned 40th birthday trip is another recent-ish event that already feels like ancient history. Leaving aside all of the questionable COVID precautions and tone-deaf photos, let’s talk about Kanye’s involvement in the trip. According to the Page Six report, Kanye almost didn’t come on the trip, and ultimately only attended for one day: “He showed up late and left early, he wouldn’t appear in any of their Instagram shots. All he did was bring over the hologram of her father, Robert Kardashian, then got out of there as fast as he could.” As much as Kim claimed to like the hologram, everyone else thought it was creepy, and it’s kind of hilarious that Kanye thought that would make up for him missing the entire trip.
That Terrifying House
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We’ve all seen Kim and Kanye’s weird white monastery-looking house that became the inspiration for a million memes. While Kim has gushed about the house publicly, it’s always seemed like their extensive renovations—estimated at $20 million—were mainly a passion project for Kanye. Last year, Kim told Architectural Digest that she thought the home was already “perfection” when they first saw it pre-renovation, but Kanye thought it was merely “workable,” and completely transformed it according to his minimalist vision.
I have my doubts about how much Kim actually loves the aesthetic of her home currently, but either way, Page Six‘s sources say that she’ll want to keep the property in a potential divorce. Interestingly, Kim owns the land surrounding the house, as well as the lots next door (because why not), but Kanye owns the building itself, so things could get messy if they both try to hang onto the home.
Whatever divorce may or may not be happening, we’re definitely still early in the timeline here. The second any paperwork is filed, it would be public record, and you already know TMZ and Page Six have people on standby to comb through every paragraph for potential tidbits of information. Hopefully we’ll get some more concrete information in the coming days, but honestly, I feel in my bones that there’s some truth to this story. We’ve all seen it coming to a certain degree, and where there’s this much smoke, there’s almost always a fire.
Images: Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com; Giphy; kimkardashian / Instagram
For years, I thought that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West were that rare celebrity couple that was immune to everything going on in the world around them. Both polarizing figures and lightning rods for controversy, they were a problematic fav power couple that seemed like they really were meant for each other. But in 2020, as Kanye has deteriorated from a problematic fav to just problematic, we’ve started to hear rumors—and see evidence—of cracks in his relationship with Kim. As much as I try to ignore Kanye these days, I can’t help but be fascinated by what’s going on with this marriage right now. So let’s look at all the evidence that a split may be in the cards for Kimye.
The Birthday Trip
Obviously, Kim got a ton of backlash for her recent 40th birthday trip to Tahiti, but her COVID consciousness is a separate issue. Personally, I can’t stop thinking about how Kanye’s presence on the trip was mostly concealed. He wasn’t in a single one of the photos that Kim posted (and she posted many photos), and the only reason we even know he was on the trip is because Kourtney tagged him in an Instagram story!
☀️ Girls just wanna have sun ☀️ pic.twitter.com/1jFfva1rrV
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 28, 2020
Now, one might think the bigger relationship red flag would be if Kanye had skipped the trip altogether, but that could’ve been easily explained away with work commitments, or the fact that he’s technically still in the middle of a Presidential campaign. Those would have seemed like excuses, but whatever; Kylie didn’t go on the trip either! But the fact that he was on that island, and he either wasn’t in any group pics or Kim specifically chose to post pictures without him? Every single alarm bell is going off in my head. I’m sure Kanye can be weird about taking pictures sometimes, but to go on a giant trip for your 40th and not post a single pic with your husband is not an indicator that your marriage is thriving.
The Birthday Hologram
For my birthday, Kanye got me the most thoughtful gift of a lifetime. A special surprise from heaven. A hologram of my dad. ✨🤍 It is so lifelike! We watched it over and over, filled with emotion. pic.twitter.com/jD6pHo17KC
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 29, 2020
We’ve known for a long time that these people are f*cking strange, but they sort of outdid themselves this time. On Thursday, Kim shared that Kanye’s 40th birthday gift to her was a hologram video of her late father speaking to her. The internet seems divided on whether this is a cute or creepy gesture, but I sincerely hope Kanye cleared this idea with Kim before spending however much a custom hologram of a dead person costs. Kim shared CGI Dad’s message to her, and the whole thing is a little strange. Robert praises his daughter for her businesses and her support of Armenia, then calls Kanye the “most, most, most, most, most genius man in the whole world.” Subtle. Did Kanye write the script for the hologram, because even for him, that’s a little much. On Twitter, Kim claimed to really love this gift, but idk, something feels off here.
The Halloween Photos
This morning, Kim shared her family Halloween photos, which are Tiger King-themed this year! (Curious whether Kim actually watched the show, or if her assistant just told her what to do.) The kids are little tigers, Kim is Carole Baskin (iconic), and Kanye is Joe Exotic. Oh wait—did I say Kanye? Sorry, I meant Jonathan Cheban. Yes, Foodgod stepped in for the family costume pics this year, and no explanation was offered for Kanye’s absence. Now, we know Kanye doesn’t love the family Halloween photos, and in the past, he’s usually worn costumes that completely conceal his face/body, leading to some speculation that it wasn’t actually him in the photos. But in the past, Kim at least wanted us to think that he was participating in the family costumes—this year, we just have to accept that Jonathan Cheban really is part of the family. Ew.
The Presidential Campaign
Now that I have your attention…this a reminder to VOTE. 6 days. pic.twitter.com/2UPuT9nilH
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 28, 2020
Back on July 4th, Kanye announced his run for President, adding on to the sense of dread that has accompanied most of this year. Kim retweeted Kanye’s initial announcement with an American flag emoji, but since then, she’s been 100% silent about Kanye’s run for President. She did not attend his first (and only) campaign rally in July, and in recent posts about voting, she’s notably chosen not to endorse, or even mention, any specific candidate. According to a People source, when Kim visited Kanye in Wyoming in July, she “urged” him to abandon the campaign, asking him to “focus on his mental health” instead. Kim opened up about dealing with Kanye’s mental health struggles in an emotional post around the same time, but when it comes to Kanye’s political aspirations, it doesn’t seem like something she’s willing to touch. Tbh, it’s a little unclear what Kanye is even trying to do with this whole campaign thing, considering he’s not even on the ballot in most states, but it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t like a little more public support from his wife.
Who knows where Kim and Kanye’s relationship trajectory is really headed, but adding up all the evidence from the past few months, things don’t seem like they’re going great. With KUWTK wrapping up soon, it might be an ideal time for Kim to leave her marriage without quite as much public attention, but let’s be real, if they actually get divorced, it’s going to be a huge deal. Or maybe their divorce will be the series finale—that possibility has Kris Jenner written all over it.
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Images: Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com; kimkardashian / Twitter; kimkardashian / Instagram
