Their once seemingly amicable split has spiralled into one of the most toxic and bitter divorce battles in showbiz history as Kim Kardashian and Kanye West take shots at each other on the world stage.
In yet another emotionally charged social-media tirade last week, Kanye, 44, lashed out at Kim’s boyfriend, Pete Davidson, 27, who he furiously labelled
a “d*---head” and warned, “You will never meet my children” amid another explosive series of attacks on the comedian, who he recently appeared to threaten to beat up.
Just 48 hours later, news broke that the rapper had split from Italian model Julia Fox, 32, following a whirlwind eight-week romance, as his estranged wife enjoyed a romantic Valentine’s Day date with Pete in New York.
It then emerged that the musician had sent a truckload of red roses to his estranged wife’s home – something he had done for Valentine’s Day when they were married.
Check out: Keeping Up with the Kardashians - the most iconic fights
Keeping Up with the Kardashian fights - slider
1 of 14Kourtney vs Kim
In the latest series Kim and Kourtney have a physical fight and to be honest we're not surprised. Tension has been building between the pair for quite some time and Kourt has even confessed that she's stepping back from the reality show.
2 of 14Khloe vs Kim
Remember when Khloe shut the door on Kim when she was trying to get into the apartment and then Kim came out with the famous line, "don't be f—king rude" before hitting her with her bag? Iconic.
3 of 14Kim and Kris vs Rob
Throwback to when Kim was dating (and then went on to marry) Kris Humphries. Well, one of the stand-out moments from their relationship was the whole diamond earring incident but during that same holiday, remember when Kim and Kris argued with Rob Kardashian? After the siblings exchanged words, Kris stepped in to defend Kim but nobody was prepared for when Rob called her a "wh-re".
4 of 14Kylie vs Kendall
So Kylie and Kendall aren't full time cast members but whenever they're on screen they know how to make their mark. While the pair were getting ready at Kylie's house, Kendall wanted to borrow one of her sister's dresses and it's safe to say Ky wasn't having it. Kylie refused to lend her the dress and Kendall went on to call her "the biggest f—king b-tch" and a "c—t". So much dramz.
5 of 14Kim vs Kourtney
Kim and Kourtney's row over North West and Penelope Disick's Candyland themed party went on for a few days but it reached its peak when they came to blows and almost called it off. While Kourtney was arguing it'll be too much sugar for the kids, Kim pointed out that was the whole theme of the party. Luckily they went ahead with it but the kids ended up being far too hyper… following all that candy.
6 of 14Scott vs the waiter
Scott has definitely had the best character development throughout the series. Remember the early series when he went wild with his partying? He punched the mirror in Miami and shoved money down the waiters throat? Everyone was embarrassed and of course, the following day he apologised.
7 of 14Scott vs Corey
This row still makes us cringe whenever we think about it. During dinner Kourtney revealed Penelope scratched her nanny on the face and it resulted in her quitting. Things were getting pretty heated between everyone but it certainly took a turn when Corey said if she was his child he would have given her a "spanking for sure". Oh boy...
8 of 14Kendall vs Caitlyn
It all kicked off when Caitlyn Jenner publicly announced she was going to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show that Kendall was walking. Kendall put her foot down and admitted she was "p-ssed" at her dad for taking the attention and went on to disinvite her. Awks.
9 of 14Kris vs the rest of the family
This will always be our funniest KUWTK episode. When the Kardashian sisters (and Kim's friend Larsa Pippen) were judging Kris for letting Rob stay in one of her houses, Kris put her foot down. She reminded them that she's supported them throughout all their "sh-t" including Kim's short marriage –remember her classic, "I'm married for 72 days, really that was normal"? Iconique.
10 of 14Kim vs Kourtney
Kim is pretty savage during any argument but she went a step too far when she claimed Kourtney was the "least interesting to look at" after her older sister was being difficult with the schedule for their annual Christmas card.
11 of 14Kourtney vs Jonathan Cheban
Throwback to Kourtney and Khloe take Miami (an iconic time, tbh). Jonathan should learn not to get involved in family fights. During the early days he defended Kim and ended up rowing with Kourtney. After Kourt told him "you're shoved so far up Kim's ass" and "You're such a f—king loser", he clapped back and said, "Scott's never going to marry you!" Kourt didn't take his jibe lightly and ended up slapping him around the face.
12 of 14Kendall vs Kris
The Kardashians Christmas party is one we would LOVE to go to but in 2018 things got a little awkward when Kendall wanted her dad Caitlyn to attend but Kris wasn't keen. After Kris pointed out that it could be awkward because of all the drama from Caitlyn's book, Kendall made it clear she wanted her dad there.
13 of 14Kim and Jonathan vs Khloe and Malika
While the Kardashians were on holiday, things got awkward when Jonathan Cheban told Malika Haaq that he got a bigger room because his best friend Kim is more famous than her best pal Khloe. When they all confronted each other, Kim told Khloe and Malika that she thought they had "an inferiority complex". Riiiight.
14 of 14Kendall vs Rob
When Rob started dating Blac Chyna it was awkward for the entire family but things took a turn when he gave her an iPad… that Kendall gave him for HIS birthday. To top it all off, Kendall found out through Instagram.
He also shared a text message exchange between him and Kim, in which Kim requested he not make their text exchanges public, to which Kanye replied, “I’m your number one fan... Why wouldn’t I tell everyone!”
He then proceeded to delete all images from Instagram except for one of him, Kim and their four children – daughters North, eight, and Chicago, four, and sons, Saint, six, and Psalm, two – captioned, “GOD PLEASE BRING OUR FAMILY BACK TOGETHER.”
And while Kim appeared to hold her head high amid her ex’s latest outburst, insiders tell Closer that the couple – who are yet to be officially divorced – remain at loggerheads because they are secretly still obsessed with each other.
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A source says, “Kim and Kanye can’t seem to let each other go and move on, they’re still desperately clinging on to one another. Kanye’s frustration is sparked by his longing to get Kim back and those close to her believe that she may even be flaunting her romance with Pete in a bid to get attention from Kanye, so this battle seems to be rooted in not being able to leave each other alone.”
Kanye has publicly pined for Kim in recent months, despite starting a relationship with Julia, 32, in January.
Last month, he released a track that featured the lyrics, “I need you to run right back to me baby, more specifically Kimberly.”
His reunion plea came just days after he blasted Kim for being a bad co-parent, allegedly attempted to kidnap their daughter, Chicago, after Kim banned him from attending her birthday party, and slammed her for allowing North to have a TikTok account.
Refusing to engage with his swipes, Kim released a statement saying, “Divorce is difficult enough on our children and Kanye’s obsession with trying to control and manipulate our situation so negatively and publicly is only causing further pain for all.”
At the time, pals said Kim’s new romance was an attempt to wind-up her ex, whose reported “showmance” with Italian model, Julia, was aimed at winning her back.
The source says, “It seems Kim and Kanye have both thrown themselves into rebound flings all aimed at riling each other and Julia quickly saw that and decided to cut ties – insisting she would no longer be a pawn in his game of trying to win back his estranged wife.
“While Kim’s still clinging onto Pete, there’s a belief among some of her friends that there’s no longevity in it and she’s apparently hinted that it’s never going to be her happily ever after.
“No one lights her up like Kanye did and she’s clearly still holding a candle for him. She’s never stopped loving or caring about him.”
The couple had been together for 11 years before the wheels finally fell off their headline- grabbing romance. During that time they’d endured dramas over her sex tape (which she recorded with rapper Ray J in 2007) as well as his reported infidelity, rumoured to be shortly after Kim gave birth to their son Saint, and a series of sensational meltdowns as he ran for President in 2020, during which he made shocking claims, such as that Kim had wanted to abort their eldest daughter North, and also referred to his mother-in-law Kris Jenner as “Kris Jong Un”.
After Kim – who wore a coat gifted to her by Kanye during a night out with Pete on Valentine’s Day – filed for divorce from the rapper last February amid his erratic behaviour, the former couple initially appeared close – with the mum-of-four supporting him at his music and fashion shows and the pair even wearing matching ensembles.
And despite their current war, which has left them not even on speaking terms, pals say thrice-divorced Kim is still secretly pining for the electricity she had with Kanye, which they’ve warned will prevent her from being able to move on.
The source adds, “Kim’s admitted that she is hesitant to finalise the divorce because she still loves Kanye and can’t seem to let him go.
“After all the heartache and scandals, Kanye is the one person who truly gets her and there’s part of her that’s secretly loving all the drama because it further confirms how much he loves her too and how much he still wants her.
“Pals have urged her to draw the line so she can move on with her life – and he can move on with his too – insisting that by stringing it out, it will only make things worse.
“She knows that once they both cut ties for all, they’ll be able to start emotionally – and physically – carving out a new and more peaceful life, but there’s something that’s preventing her from doing that right now and her obsession for him is clearly part of that.”
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Expert: ‘Therapy could help them both’
Relationship expert and life coach Charlotte Johnson, from MegaPleasure.co.uk, says Kim and Kanye’s interlinking careers, their shared traumatic moments, their fame and their kids have made it hard to move on.
She says, “A break-up is hard on anyone, but given Kim and Kanye’s circumstances, it’s no wonder it’s tough. They were not only one of the most famous couples in the world, but they went through significant milestones and life experiences together. They had four children, multiple overlapping business ventures and their family “brand” was a huge part of their success. And they went through some really low moments together, notably Kim’s dramatic robbery and Kanye’s mental health struggles. They’ll always have this deep underlying connection.
“Kanye’s behaviour shows he’s struggling. He feels threatened by Kim’s new partner and there’s jealousy, frustration, confusion and devastation. From Kim’s side, the speed of the relationship – and the fact Pete is a lot younger – may indicate it’s a rebound relationship and may not last.
“Kim and Kanye will always be in each other’s lives due to their children, so the best thing they can do is communicate – away from the public eye – how they want to work things out. And I’d recommend therapy, so they can process the breakdown of their relationship.”