We all come with baggage, but some of us carry a heavier load than others. And, sadly for Kim Kardashian, hers comes in the form of a surly ex-husband.
Rapper Kanye West may no longer have a say in Kim’s day-to-day life, but his ongoing grip on her was evident last week, after it was revealed that Kim’s boyfriend Odell Beckham Jr had called time on their six-month relationship. According to insiders, as much as Kim, 43, and Odell, 31, tried to stay out of the limelight – and, more to the point, out of her ex’s firing line – they just couldn’t hack the pressure.
“Odell has been open about how he’s completely turned off by the Kanye factor,” says an insider close to the former couple, who first sparked dating rumours in September, and were last spotted at an Oscars after-party in March.
“Getting serious with Kim would mean coming into Kanye’s world – being in the firing line for all his social media rants, getting dragged into face-to-face meetings, and having to endure him during custody drop-offs. What’s more, the way Kanye harassed and humiliated Pete Davidson really hit home for him.”
Kanye, 46, didn’t hold back when Kim began dating Pete, 30, in 2021, shortly after their marriage ended. He launched a vicious online attack against the comedian – who he called Skete – on social media, even doctoring a headline to read “Skete Davidson Dead at Age 28”.
After nine months, Kim and Pete split, with The Kardashians star later saying she harboured “a lot of guilt” over what Pete went through with Kanye – especially after he said he’d needed “trauma therapy” in the wake of their relationship. As for Odell, Kanye had yet to launch any public attack against him, but the threat was always present – and we’re told that ultimately ended any future for the pair.
Kim’s been clearly making concerted efforts to forge a friendship with her ex-husband for the sake of their four children – North, ten, Saint, eight, Chicago, six, and four-year-old Psalm – in recent months, even rubbing shoulders with his new wife, Bianca Censori. But the fact that this compromises any hope Kim has of finding happiness with someone new seems to be music to Kanye’s ears.
“Kanye has said from day one that Kim will never find anyone as good as him, and he stands by that,” says our insider.
“He’s definitely getting a huge kick out of the fact that she’s been unable to move on, while he’s got Bianca by his side. His whole mindset with Kim is that if he can’t have her, no one else can. It seems like he’ll never let her be happy.”