They live their every hour in the public eye, inhaling publicity like we breath oxygen. But while all five sisters of the Kardashian-Jenner clan – and, of course, their omnipresent momager Kris Jenner – revel in the spotlight, there is one member of the family who has long had a much more complicated relationship with it, disappearing out of public view for months, and sometimes years, at the time. Step forward Rob Kardashian – wherever you are.
The only Kardashian boy among the brood, Rob has always stood apart from his very famous sisters, struggling to establish himself in the limelight as their superstardom has grown. While, at times, he’s embraced the family business - appearing on Dancing With The Stars in 2014 and even starring in his own fly-on-the-wall series, Rob & Chyna, alongside his then girlfriend Blac Chyna in 2016 – he’s also totally turned his back on the cameras along the way, especially during his much-chronicled battles with his weight, as well as his alleged struggles with drink and drug abuse.
But, over the past few months, the 36 year old’s whereabouts have become all the more confusing, especially since his daughter, Dream, seven – whom he shares with Chyna – regularly appears on her aunts’ and grandma’s social media, with no sign of Rob nearby. Now, we’re told, it’s not just fans who are concerned. According to insiders, Rob’s friends and family are also worried about his reclusive behaviour, as history has shown he shirks the spotlight when he’s feeling low. And the more he retreats, the more his self-esteem plummets.
“Rob is back to being a total recluse – he’ll go weeks at a time without returning calls and he’s even refusing to come to family gatherings again,” says an insider close to the 36 year old, who starred alongside his family in the first series of their hit show Keeping Up With The Kardashians in 2007, before appearing less and less amid his mental and physical health struggles – which he has openly spoken about in the past.
“Kim [Kardashian] has tried to line up all sorts of easy gigs for him, but he’s not interested and is shutting down all her efforts. It seems not even money can lure him back into the public eye. The only thing that makes him happy is being a dad, but whenever he doesn’t have Dream, he seems to slide into this very deep funk. On those days, he only gets out of bed to move to the couch. It’s really sad, but nothing is going to change until he makes the decision to change.”
As mentioned, Rob’s saving grace is his beloved daughter, whom he shares custody of. In 2022, Blac Chyna, who now goes by her real name, Angela White, hit the headlines after claiming she received no child support from Rob, with whom she’s had a tumultuous relationship ever since they split in 2017. He hit back, “I pay 40k a year for my daughter’s school. I handle every single medical expense. I pay for all her extracurricular activities. I have my daughter from Tuesday-Saturday. Why would I pay child support LOL?”
This followed his ex’s earlier attempts to sue the Kardashians for defamation, a case she ultimately lost. Since then, however, the former couple have reportedly made peace, with their focus on their daughter remaining top priority. But when Dream is with her mum, we’re told that Rob has very little to focus on, and so continues to languish. As a result, his long-documented struggles with his weight are exacerbated all the more, which makes him even more reluctant to see his friends and family – prompting a vicious cycle that causes more and more concern.
“Whenever he gains weight, he becomes completely terrified of leaving the house and getting photographed,” says our source. “He just can’t deal with all the hateful comments and the intense judgement, which means he ends up hiding out at home. He can spend hours on end just zoning out on video games and never seeing a drop of sunlight – it’s so bad for his body and mind, but he refuses to change. It’s devastating for his family because they can see how self-destructive he’s being, but there is literally nothing they can do.”
One person who is particularly rocked by Rob’s struggles is, of course, Khloé Kardashian, who has long championed her baby brother. Rob famously lived with Khloé and her then-husband Lamar Odom up until 2013, and Khloé even blamed her divorce for fuelling his problems with booze and drugs, saying Lamar had been like a father figure to Rob (their own dad, Robert Kardashian Sr, died in 2003) and, after he left, Rob felt lost. Despite being close to all her nieces and nephews, Khloé has always enjoyed a distinctly strong bond with Dream, and she often posts pictures and adoring messages to her, in addition to her own two children, True, five, and Tatum, three. In fact, the three kids are so close that fans often struggle to tell which of them are siblings.
Last year, Khloé paid tribute to her brother, saying on the family’s Hulu TV show The Kardashians, “He’s literally the best dad I know, and I’m so proud of him for that,” and adding that he might even be really to face the cameras again one day. “I do think Rob would come back to the show,” she said. “He talks about it a lot, but I do know that Rob has been through a lot personally.”
Still, it’s been a long time since Rob seemingly felt good in his skin – last appearing alongside his family in 2021. In 2022, he did briefly appear on The Kardashians, but only via a video call with his mum, Kris, and he reportedly didn’t even attend older sister Kourtney Kardashian’s to drummer Travis Barker in Italy last year, with sources saying he felt “uncomfortable” – echoing his last-minute decision to skip Kim and Kanye West’s wedding in 2014 because he couldn’t bear to see himself in pictures. Speaking of pictures, while his family live their lives online, Rob last posted on Instagram in June 2023, and only then to wish Khloé a happy birthday.
All this, we’re told, has sent his friends’ and family’s fears rocketing. Everyone knows that, the more Rob retreats, the more he feels he has to hide. But, as much as Kris and co want to help him, they ultimately know that there’s only one person who can turn things around – and that’s himself. “Rob’s family would do anything for him,” says our source. “But until he’s ready to take action, there’s absolutely nothing they can do but pray for a miracle.”