Khloé Kardashian opened up about how her painful divorce from Lamar Odom gave her strength to handle Tristan Thompson’s cheating scandal. The reality star shared these insights on the July 2 episode of her Khloé in Wonderland podcast.
When a fan asked about feeling “like the strongest version” of herself, the 41-year-old struggled to pick just one moment.
“I feel like I’ve had many moments that sort of prepared me for other situations in my life, where I was able to endure them. So I feel like everything that happens in our lives is meant to happen, and even if they’re not all positive situations, I do think that there’s steps in why things happen to you.”
Kardashian explained how her public divorce became unexpected preparation for future heartbreak.
“For example, with me and my ex-husband. Me going through such a public divorce and handling that – and yes, it was between him and I, and it was a great love that was now lost and that whole thing – it was so public. So public that I’ve never dealt with something like that before. But I dealt with it and I had my family’s support and all of that.”
From Quick Marriage to Public Divorce
The Good American founder met Odom in August 2009. They married the following month.
By 2013, Kardashian filed for divorce amid cheating rumors and Odom’s substance abuse issues. The former basketball player’s refusal to respond delayed the process for years.
The divorce was finalized in July 2015. But Kardashian dismissed it two months later when Odom was found unconscious in a Las Vegas brothel after an overdose.
They separated again in 2016. Kardashian began dating Thompson shortly after.
“That was sort of a stepping stone, if you will, for the next big traumatic thing that happened to me, [which] was when Tristan cheated on me right before I gave birth.”
Thompson’s First Cheating Scandal
News of Thompson’s infidelity broke in April 2018. Kardashian was in her final days of pregnancy with True.
“Obviously no one can prepare you for something like that. And it wasn’t the cheating that’s like, ‘Ugh.’ People get cheated on. It’s more that I was nine months pregnant – I was having a baby two days later – and it was so public and it was everywhere. But I think I handled it the best that I knew how because I almost got a little experience of it, or a lot of experience of it, from my divorce with Lamar. So it sort of prepared me.”
The Kardashians star admitted the timing made everything worse.
“But if it was maybe just the one-off situation and while you have these newly fresh hormones and you’re just trying to even be a first time mom or be present in this moment and experience this moment, I don’t know if I would’ve been able just to handle that isolated incident.”
Despite Thompson’s infidelity with Jordyn Woods – Kylie Jenner’s best friend – Kardashian eventually reconciled with the NBA player. They had son Tatum via surrogate in August 2022. He was conceived in November 2021.
They split for the final time in January 2022. Kardashian discovered Thompson had fathered a child with another woman while they were still together.
“Everything prepared me for each experience in my life, and I think when you overcome those experiences, you feel really strong. And also for how I handled so many of those moments in my life, I’m really proud of myself for the way I handled them.”
