Under the magnifying glass. Following many public ups and downs, it is no surprise that Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson‘s relationship will continue to be a major topic of discussion on Hulu’s reality series The Kardashians.
“Right now, Tristan and I are just friends. I love the relationship that he and I have but my biggest focus is being a mom to my beautiful angel True,” Khloé, 37, told the cameras during The Kardashians debut episode, which premieres on Thursday, April 14.
The Good American cofounder noted that Tristan, 31, had different plans, adding, “I know if Tristan had his way, we would completely be together. I just need a little breathing room and time to think.”
Fans originally watched Khloé’s ups and downs with the athlete unfold on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The former couple were first linked in September 2016 and welcomed their daughter less than two years later.
Days before Khloé gave birth, the former Boston Celtics player was accused of cheating with multiple women. The pair stayed together at the time. They later pulled the plug on their romance after Tristan kissed Kylie Jenner‘s former best friend Jordyn Woods in 2019.
The on and off duo rekindled their romance in August 2020 after spending time together amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Less than one year later, however, Us confirmed that they called it quits again.
During the Hulu series premiere, Khloé admitted that she has “a lot of reservations and guards up” when it comes to Tristan because of their past. “Tristan is very determined on us getting back together,” she shared. “He goes to therapy quite often — a couple of times a week. We now even do couples therapy together. I say couples but it is really his therapy that I am asked to join.”
Amid filming the first season of The Kardashians, the NBA player’s private life made headlines again when news broke that he was being sued for child support by Maralee Nichols. In Tristan’s court response, he acknowledged that he hooked up with the fitness model in March 2021 — while he was still dating Khloé.
In January 2022, the Canada native publicly acknowledged the child’s paternity one month after Theo’s birth. He is also the father of 5-year-old son with ex Jordan Craig.
Following the drama, Khloé confirmed that viewers will see the events unfold on screen.
“It will be addressed on the show,” the Revenge Body host told Variety last month. “We try as a family to protect the privacy of our partners or significant others, since they didn’t really sign up for this; we did. But if something is really public like this was, it would be strange if Tristan was a part of the show and then all of a sudden he disappears and we don’t ever talk about it.”
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She added: “I always try to be as respectful as possible, but it is reality. But it’s not going to be some long, drawn-out situation. I think people are probably a little tired of it.”
One month later, the KUWTK alum opened up about where the exes stand now. “I still think he’s a great guy, and he’s a great dad. He’s just not the guy for me,” Khloé told Robin Roberts during an interview on April 6. “I think at the end of the day, all of us aspire to have blissfulness. We want to feel happy. We want to feel safe.”
Scroll down for everything Khloé and her family have said when it comes to her relationship with Tristan:
Where Things Stand Now
“Tristan and I are currently not exactly together. He’s one of my best friends,” Khloé explained in a confessional interview during the premiere episode. “I see Tristan a couple of times a week. He’s a really hands-on dad and me and Tristan don’t have tension. We get along really well. So it is just easy to coparent with him.”
Reflecting on Their Past
During The Kardashians premiere, Khloé and Tristan addressed adjusting to their new normal as just coparents.
“It is always such a weird f–king gray area because we are such great friends. And I think that is so confusing to outside people,” the California native noted during the April 14 episode. “Because I know how to be a monster to you if I want to.
The basketball player replied, “But you never have been which I respect and I appreciate that. I mean it is not like you ever burned my clothes or slashed my cars.”
The businesswoman reminded her ex-boyfriend that she has “thrown water on all [his] clothes” when she was pregnant with their daughter. “When you cheated on me. And if I wasn’t pregnant, I would have f–ked you up. I just didn’t want to break my nails before delivery,” she said.
What Their Future Holds
“Every day he tries to show me and prove to me that he is a different person and that I should have faith and trust him. But him and I have been through so much together that I have a lot of reservations,” Khloé admitted, noting that no one held Tristan “accountable” for his past actions.
The Canada native, for his part, added, “You know how I feel about you. I want to get us back together and build our family and hopefully be able to expand that family one day.”
His Impact
“Malika [Haqq] and Tristan have this ability that they are able to ground me. I feel like that is one of the reasons I am so drawn to the both of them,” Khloé told cameras during the April 21 episode.
Making Light of the Drama
“Oh Khloé, you have the biggest heart. It has room for Tristan and all of his side pieces,” Kim joked while rehearsing potential Saturday Night Live monologues with friend Amy Schumer.
Another Try
During the May 5 episode of The Kardashians, Khloé revealed that she was giving her romantic relationship with Tristan another try.
“We are good. We are actually in a really good place. We just got back together and he has been going to therapy a lot. There has just been a lot of effort on his part,” she told the cameras. “It is so fun when Tristan is here. I mean he is a great father. True has her routines and she loves having them with both of her parents and it is just great to see that joy on her face.”
The reality star added: “When we broke up, I learned how well him and I got along and what good friends we are and what good partners we are. I have a lot of hope, faith and optimism for our future together.”
Family’s Support
After Tristan and Khloé reconciled, Kim opened up about her view of the relationship. “I feel like he has been making an effort for a long time. You haven’t wanted to see it and that is OK,” she said.
Khloé, for her part, noted, “I love that it is not just talk. I am not just believing everything he is telling me. He is actually showing me. I have so much faith and hope in our future.”
Finding Happiness
“Right now, Tristan and I are so happy. He is my best friend and we have so much fun together. He is trying so hard by going to therapy and doing all of these things. I think that’s really what I am most proud,” Khloé gushed during an episode of The Kardashians on May 12. “I am so excited for all of these new chapters.”
Working on Their Future
“Tristan is very protective of his family. He doesn’t like people talking about any one of us,” Khloé gushed about her then-boyfriend during the May 19 episode of The Kardashians. “It is really cute and how I think everyone should be. You just are supposed to protect your family.”
A Major Revelation
During the June 2 episode of The Kardashians, a sneak peek at a future episode showed Khloé’s next chapter with Tristan. “I just moved into my dream home with True and Tristan, of course,” she said in the promo for the June 9 episode of the Hulu series. “It’s finally done. Everything’s just in a really good place right now.”
Later in the clip, Kim finds out about Tristan’s potential lawsuit. “It’s this whole thing saying, ‘I, Tristan Thompson, I met this girl in Houston. I slept with her on my 30th birthday,’” the Skims founder tells someone on the phone. “So I sent it to him and I said, ‘Does Khloé know about this?’ Khloé doesn’t even f–king know!”
The Calm Before the Storm
Ahead of Tristan’s paternity scandal, Kris Jenner opened up about her candid conversations with the basketball player. “I am going to be honest with you. All Tristan talks to me about sometimes is getting married. He is always talking about how much he wants to make sure he regains that trust that he knows he lost. Like a fresh start,” the momager told her daughter during a June 2022 episode.
Khloé, for her part, admitted that she needed more time before she could take the next step. “I am not with Tristan to just float around with Tristan. Marriage is the end goal but right now I still think there is work to be done with him and I both,” she told the cameras.
Weighing In on the Bombshell
During a June 2022 episode, Kim shocked Kourtney Kardashian and Kylie with the news of Tristan’s infidelity.
“This is Tristan talking — these are his words. This is his whole declaration. He is asking for a paternity test and admitting that he had sex with her,” the Skims founder told her sisters while reading the legal docs. “Khloé threw him his 30th birthday. So he went home from the 30th birthday party, went to Houston, Texas, to play on the road — we can check his schedule — and then slept with this girl.”
Kylie responded, “Is Tristan like the worst person on the planet?”
Kourtney, meanwhile, worried about how Khloé would take the news. “If he doesn’t at least talk to her about this stuff before it happens, that’s insane,” the Poosh founder said. “She doesn’t deserve this.”
Facing Her New Reality
“I wanted to believe that Tristan could change. I wanted to trust him,” Khloé shared during a preview for an upcoming episode. In another clip, Khloé told Kendall Jenner, “I am so anxious. I fainted the other day.”
Breaking Her Silence
“I find out what Tristan is doing with the rest of the world. A courtesy would be not doing it. But fine if you do it you are not even going to give me a f–king heads-up before the rest of the world?” Khloé told the cameras during the June 16 episode. “It is just an additional slap in my face. It is humiliating. I am embarrassed. I would prefer to be alone than to be around people.”
The Good American cofounder added: “I am replaying every event, every grand gesture, every trip [and] every date. All of that was a lie. How were you able to not say something? I feel just not really in my own body.”
A Mother’s Opinion
“It is such a lack of respect. This is somebody who has a pattern of bad behavior. Somebody that has lied to her since June. This is not something that can be undone,” Kris told her family in response to the news. “If he is in this pattern, why does she just need to keep suffering? And that’s what breaks my heart.”
A Bad Look
In a June 2022 episode, Kourtney slammed Tristan to her family for his behavior toward Khloé.
“The lack of honesty is what does it for me. Let’s just be honest with who we are, what we are doing and the mistakes we are making. It is way less hurtful to say the truth than to find out on the internet and not feel like you are in the loop,” she said. “We have given Tristan so many opportunities and chances to work on himself and treat my sister the way she deserves to be treated. I just feel super disappointed.”
Kendall’s Thoughts
After finding out about Tristan’s infidelity, Kendall reflected on the pain that Khloé has to deal with as a result. “I feel really bad for her. It makes me so angry, especially because he fooled, obviously Khloe, but the rest of us too,” the model explained. “I really did think that he had changed. Like anyone who would criticize or talk bad about him, I would have his back. In a way he betrayed us all.”
A Major Sign
During the season 1 finale, Kim pointed out that Tristan’s actions helped Khloé avoid more issues in the future. “My heart is breaking for Khloé because I know that she is really trying and I know that he was really trying. Then this happens and it is like, ‘Dude. What the f–k?” she said in a confessional interview.
While on the phone with Khloé, Kim attempted to comfort her sister, saying, “But if this isn’t the biggest sign for you not to have another baby with this human being.”
A Bombshell
During the season 2 premiere, Khloé revealed that she was expecting her second child with Thompson via surrogate.
“[Tristan is], of course, like, excited and wants this. He keeps asking me questions and I just won’t answer him,” she explained about getting ready for another baby. “I was definitely very angry and I think feeling bamboozled. All I know is I was being encouraged to do it by a certain date. In hindsight, he always knew when the other baby was being born, and especially getting the paperwork that we saw — he found out July 2.”
At the time, Kendall called out Thompson’s decision to go through with the embryo transfer when he knew about his paternity lawsuit. “You were encouraging Khloé to go forward with this while you knew that that was also happening. It’s almost like he wanted to trap her,” the model told Kylie and Kris.
No Support
“I’m just really disappointed in Tristan. I think it’s really f—ked up that he knew he had another baby on the way with somebody else, which makes me uncomfortable to put someone in that position, especially when there’s a child involved,” Kylie told cameras in season 2. “This was just really unforgivable in my books.”
Their Big Moment
In a September 2022 episode, Khloé offered a glimpse at her dynamic with Thompson amid their second child’s arrival.
“I was on the fence about having Tristan come to the hospital or not,” she detailed. “But since Tristan wants to be here, I just figured, ‘Why not, let him come. I’ll never get this moment back.’”
The Good American cofounder added: “Ever since December, it’s been this dark cloud looming over me. Every single day, I’ve been feeling depressed and sad, and now that my son is here, I get to move on, and I get to enjoy. It’s almost like I get to close that chapter and be done with this trauma and put it behind me. Now I finally get to start the healing process. Now I get to start enjoying my life with two kids in it and figuring this out.”
A Surprise Proposal
During season 2, Khloé confirmed that Tristan popped the question before his paternity scandal.
“I said I need to make sure this is a totally different relationship because I want to be proud to say I am engaged to anyone. That is why I said, ‘I am not comfortable accepting this because I am not excited to tell my family,'” she recalled in the September 29 episode. “And as hurtful as it was for him to hear it was the truth. I would never accept something and give someone false hope.”
Rolling With the Punches
In an October 2022 episode, Khloé reflected on her life changing “on a dime” in various ways.
“It is probably through practice [that I found a place of peace with Tristan]. I think a lot of people maybe forget that I have been through a lot of bulls–t. My ex-husband [Lamar Odom], when we were married he definitely had a very public drug problem,” she explained in a confessional. “He was found in a brothel and there were a lot of things that probably aren’t forgivable. And I am still able to forgive him and move on and want the best for him. It only hurts me by holding on to all this stuff so let go and let God.”
Kris also weighed in on her daughter’s emotional state, saying, “Khloé is handling this whole Tristan thing with so much grace. But as her mom, I can tell Khloé is feeling really down. I can just feel her energy and I know she internalizes everything, which I do worry about. But I am really happy that she is in Palm Springs with me and we are going to cheer her up.”
Making Light of the Situation
“I just broke up with my daughter’s dad. He had a baby with someone else when we were together, so we had to kick him out,” Khloé told Martha Stewart about her personal issues with Thompson during an October 2022 episode of The Kardashians. “It was very naughty.”
Involving the Public
After yelling “liar” while watching a scene with Tristan, Khloé opened up about her surprising response at a screening for The Kardashians.
“When I was watching the show and Tristan was on saying — I don’t even know what he said because I blacked it out — but it was like, ‘Oh we are just so great’ or whatever the f—k he was saying. I felt as if the whole theater was staring at me,” she explained in October 2022. “So I was just like, ‘This is so awkward.’ Because it is like what a crock of s—t. What the f—k and I believed you and I was listening to you and I was receiving everything you said. But you are a f—king liar.”
Celebrating True
During a November 2022 episode of The Kardashians, Khloé denied Tristan’s offer to pay for their daughter True’s birthday party. “No, he is not taking care of the whole party. That is nice but I won’t let that happen,” she told Kris. “And I am so excited that I get to do it all by myself. That is very nice, but I won’t let him do that.”
The Good American cofounder noted the duo didn’t reunite for a while following his paternity scandal, adding, “We do coparent really well, but I haven’t seen Tristan in person since before Christmas time.”
