In 2011, Kanye West famously joked he put on a whole fashion show just to get a date with Kim Kardashian leading fans to believe they were going to be the ultimate couple. But since the rapper's romantic gesture, the duo went on to have quite the rollercoaster relationship.
Despite their exceptionally lavish Italian wedding, the pair, who were once one of Hollywood's most influential couples shocked the world when the SKIMS founder filed for divorce on 19 February 2019 seven years after tying the knot.
Since the news broke, the couple's journey into co-parenting their four children, North, nine, Saint, seven, Chicago, five, and Psalm, three has been well documented by the press and in Kim's reality series Keeping Up With the Kardashians and The Kardashians.
But why did the former husband and wife duo get divorced and are they still friends? Keeping scrolling to find out everything you need to know…
When did Kim and Kanye meet?
The former Hollywood couple met all the way back in 2003, through their mutual friend and popstar, Brandy, who was recording a song with the award-winning rapper at the time. "He was recording a song with Brandy, and I was her friend," Kim revealed during the 10th anniversary special of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
"I vividly remember hanging out with him, and then they did a video together, so I'd see him a few times. He was asking his friends: 'Who is this Kim Kardajan?' He didn’t know what my name was."
It wasn't until April 2012, that the former husband and wife couple announced their romantic relationship.
When did Kim and Kanye get married?
After a whirlwind romance, Kanye popped the question on 13 October 2013, four months after welcoming their first child together, North West. The special day also fell on Kim's 33rd birthday. The musician rented out San Francisco's AT&T Park where they were joined by close friends and family. The words "Will you marry me," were displayed over the big screen whilst an orchestra played.
The pair tied the knot the following year in May 2014 during a lavish Italian wedding. The happy couple enjoyed a week-long celebration in Paris before heading over to Forte di Belvedere in Florence where they finally said "I do".
Why did Kim and Kanye get a divorce?
According to the official papers it was due to "irreconcilable differences," which led the beauty mogul to file for divorce from the musician in February 2021. The former couple went through years of martial turbulence before their official split, which started in 2016 after Kanye was hospitalized for exhaustion. He also went on a series of Twitter rants one of which addressed Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose.
© Alo CeballosIn July 2020, Kanye revealed news of his political campaign and, during his first rally in South Carolina, he shared that he and Kim nearly had an abortion, or "killed" their daughter North, during the early stages of their pregnancy. The following day he tweeted that Kim and a doctor were flying to Wyoming to lock him up after his erratic behavior at the event.
Kim opened up about the split on her reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians during an emotional segment with her sisters Khloe Kardashian, Kendall, and Kylie Jenner.
In the clip, Kim was overwhelmed with emotion as she said: "How am I still in this place where I’m stuck for years? Like he goes and moves to a different state every year and I have to be in a place where I’m together for the kids. And he's an amazing dad. And he’s done an amazing job." Kim was declared legally single in March 2022.
Did Kim get a divorce settlement from Kanye?
Kim and Kanye finalized their divorce in November 2022 after years of going back and forth.
In the final settlement, the reality star and the rapper received joint custody of their four children. Kanye also pays $200,000 a month to the aspiring lawyer in child support and is responsible for 50 percent of his childrens' educational and security expenses.
Are Kim and Kanye still friends?
Kim has been incredibly open about the status of her relationship with Kanye on her family reality show, The Kardashians, which first launched last year.
Talking about their divorce at the beginning of the series, Kim explained: "Kanye and I are still going through a divorce now. We're just trying to figure it out. How to be good parents to our kids together, how to be good friends to each other. Our ultimate goal no matter what is just happiness and following that, whatever that looks like."
Kim revealed that Kanye told her he was considering becoming her full-time stylist after their split. "He says wants to quit everything and just dedicate his life to being my stylist," she told sisters Khloe and Kourtney. Kanye even dealt with a potential sex tape leak for his ex-wife which was documented on the show.
However, things took a turn after Kim appeared on comedy show, Saturday Night Live. During the rehearsal of Kim's opening monologue, Kanye left the room as he wasn't happy with the wording of the reality star's speech.
Later on in the series, Kim revealed that she always wants their children to have their dad in their life. She said: "No matter what we’re going through, I always want my kids to be around their dad as much as possible and just to have their mornings with dad and get dropped off at school."
And whilst the TV star appears to be in a great place with her career, her relationship with her ex remains turbulent. On the series finale of season two, she revealed: "Even now when he was at the height of not speaking to me and being angry with me. He won a few Grammys and I still reached out and was like, 'I know you just won a few Grammys, I gotta add them to the vault.' He's like, 'OK.' Because the kids want them — and I want them all together".
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