Kris Jenner Has Spoken Out About Kim And Kanye’s Divorce

Lots happened before Kim made her filing for divorce. Though it wasn’t really all that surprising for many of us who’d been keeping up with the Kardashians. When a couple experiences life with very little privacy – as Kim and Kanye always seemed to do – it’s easy for people to see the cracks.

But while Keeping Up with the Kardashians is entertainment, the events surrounding the run up to Kim and Kanye’s divorce seemed a lot more serious. The latter had bipolar disorder, Kim herself confirmed, and it affected not just their marriage but the wider family, too.

Back in July 2020 Kim wrote a long post on social media about Kanye’s bipolar disorder. She said, “Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand.” But as the next few months passed, it became clear the marriage was irreversibly strained.

And Kris Jenner – grandmother to Kim and Kanye’s four kids – seemed pretty heavily involved in things. As the latter’s behavior became more erratic and the marriage started to deteriorate, Kanye made several comments about her as well. But of course as all Kardashian fans know, Kris isn’t just Kim’s mother. She’s her manager, too!

In September 2020 tabloid newspaper The Sun reported that Kris had “pulled the plug” on Keeping Up with the Kardashians because she feared Kanye was damaging the family’s brand. Though was it true? One source insisted it wasn’t, though one thing we do know is that Kim filed for divorce in February 2021.

There’s definitely enough out there to make one think that Kris might have cancelled the show because of Kanye. In October 2018 there were hints she wasn’t pleased with his headline-grabbing erratic behavior – especially since so much of it was political in nature. And she took herself to The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about it.

Kris said on the show, “Kanye’s an amazing son-in-law. He’s an amazing dad and husband and friend and brother-in-law… I think what I really want to do is be there to help him be the best version of himself that he can be.” But she added, “You’re always concerned when there’s controversy and drama and things are going on and it’s sometimes worrisome.”

Things became more concerning as time went on, though. Kanye began writing strange things on Twitter which he later deleted. In July 2020 the musician started directing plenty of them at Kris – including one that claimed she wasn’t “allowed around my children” and “tried to lock me up.” Kim was reportedly very upset by that, as you could imagine.

Just one day later Kanye did the same thing again. He tweeted that Kris and Kim “put out a statement without my approval... that’s not what a wife should do.” But what statement this was, he didn’t say. Kanye also claimed he’d been trying to divorce Kim for years beforehand, and called his mom-in-law “Kris Jong-Un.”

According to inside sources, the whole family was desperate to get Kanye help. An anonymous person told People magazine that same week, “Kim’s family is around to support her as always. And they love Kanye. They want him to be healthy. They are all trying to figure out how to help Kanye. They are in contact with medical professionals for guidance.”

Kim had spoken out about her husband’s mental health diagnosis that year, though things didn’t seem to get better. The marriage was clearly in trouble. And in August 2020 one source claimed to Heat magazine that it wasn’t even Kim herself who was a problem to Kanye. No, apparently it was all Kris.

The source claimed, “Kanye is convinced Kim’s mother Kris has got it in for him and that she’s the main source of all their problems. He accepts things with Kim need a lot of fixing and he admits he’s no saint in some areas, but ultimately, his biggest beef is with Kris.” And that wasn’t even all.

According to the source, Kanye was “sick of [Kris’] meddling” and “the constant pressure for Kim to be in the spotlight.” They went on, “In Kanye’s mind, so many of their problems would be solved if they had more privacy. He wants the marriage to work, but this is top of his list in terms of demands and there’s no changing his mind.”

The source added, “Kim’s in a terrible position because she adores her mum and looks up to her like a mentor as well as a best friend. She’s her biggest career influence bar none, and they’ve always been inseparable. They basically co-run the family and the brand, so the idea of kicking her to the curb on Kanye’s orders is unimaginable.”

A month later The Sun reported its story about Kris wanting an end to Keeping Up with the Kardashians. According to an anonymous source, Kanye had “tried to constantly fight with Kris over production and the direction that the show is going.” Though they claimed that Kris “was not about to let anybody take the reins.”

The source added regarding the wider Kardashian family, “They are all leading separate lives. Kourtney cannot stand any of them, Kim has become power-hungry, Kanye is reckless, Kendall wants nothing to do with it, Kylie feels like her privacy is constantly invaded, and Kris is just flat-out tired. Kris just called an end to it before any further damage could be done to her family and the lives of her grandkids.”

It was certainly a sad state of affairs. But things weren’t always like that, of course – especially not with regards to Kris and Kanye. Once upon a time, they’d actually seemed pretty close. Back in 2015 Kanye spoke to the website Style.com for New York Fashion Week and casually let slip that he called Kris “mom.”

And Kris herself seemed to like Kanye a lot before the relationship had broken down. Back in 2015 she told the Evening Standard newspaper, “Kanye and I get along really well. He’s anally tidy – exactly like the rest of us.” But of course, it had all gone wrong. So, could anything be salvaged from that particular relationship?

The next few months of 2020 were an absolute whirlwind. The Kardashian-Wests made headlines again in October, but for a reason other than relationship trouble. Kanye had arranged a special, very extravagant birthday present for Kim that month. He got her a talking hologram of her late father – Kris’ late husband – Robert Kardashian.

Kris sung Kanye’s praises immediately afterwards. In early November she went on Sirius XM’s Andy Cohen Live show and said, “[The hologram] started and we just all started to cry. It was just so intense. I must have watched it 20 times. It was really good. [Kanye] is the king of gifts and he worked on that for a really long time.”

Things seemed alright for a moment – but it didn’t last. In December 2020 a source told People magazine that Kim and Kanye were leading “very much separate lives.” They said, “Kim has work and projects that are important to her, and Kanye has his. Their lives don’t overlap much.” And neither star’s rep responded to a request for comment.

Then as 2021 dawned Page Six magazine reported that Kim and Kanye would shortly announce a divorce. Several inside sources talked to the publication about the state of the relationship, and it wasn’t good. One of them said of the couple, “They are keeping it low-key but they are done. Kim has hired [divorce attorney] Laura Wasser and they are in settlement talks.”

Kim had also been seen without her wedding ring and was seemingly planning out an entirely new life and career. The source told Page Six, “Now this divorce is happening because Kim has grown up a lot. She is serious about taking the bar exam and becoming a lawyer, she is serious about her prison reform campaign.”

The insider also mentioned that everything surrounding Kim’s birthday and the hologram hadn’t been all it seemed. Though she had enjoyed a massive and hugely expensive birthday party, “[Kanye] showed up late and left early, he wouldn’t appear in any of their Instagram shots. All he did was bring over the hologram of her father Robert Kardashian [and he] then got out of there as fast as he could.”

To the surprise of no one who’d been keeping up with the story, Kim filed for divorce the following month. And there was plenty of comment about it in the media. According to anonymous sources, things were amicable and they had agreed about custody of the children. Everyone was keen to hear from Kim’s family, though.

Caitlyn Jenner offered up a simple statement when appearing on People (the TV Show!) in March 2021. The star explained that Kim herself would probably speak out about it soon but also said, "I love her to death. She’s a great person. We were texting this morning and, you know, I wish her nothing but the best.” But would the rest of the family be so diplomatic?

Kim herself continued to not say anything, but she was seen out and about and apparently quite enjoying herself. That same month an anonymous source told People magazine, “Kim is figuring out her new life as single. With Kanye, she was often on his schedule. Now she is able to do whatever makes her happy.”

And Kim seemed to quietly drop her husband's surname as well. Her first public appearance since the divorce filing was at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in mid-March. And it didn’t take the media long to notice that she was introduced as just “Kim Kardashian” – not “Kim Kardashian-West.”

The People source also spoke about the people rallying around Kim, saying, “She sees her girlfriends a couple of times a week at least. She loves catching up with them. [Kim] has a big group of friends that are great support.” Her family also appeared to be a source of help, since she’d been seen hanging out with family members.

So, when Kris eventually spoke out about the divorce, it was unsurprisingly in a supportive way. The family head discussed the matter while appearing on The Kyle & Jackie O Show that March. She began, “I think it’s always going to be hard any time ... you know, there’s a lot of kids [involved].”

Kris went on, “The good thing about our family is that we are there for each other and supportive and we love each other very, very much – so all I want is for those two kids to be happy. And I want the kids to be happy. That’s the goal. I think we all want that for our families, just to be able to have... the love and appreciation of one another and just that everyone’s okay.”

But would the Kim and Kanye divorce factor into the last Keeping Up with the Kardashians season? Kris responded, “I don’t know what they have decided on in the finale because we haven’t even seen the first show yet. I’m sure they’re putting some final touches, but I think it’s just a private time for them.”

And Kris went on, echoing the words of her ex-wife Caitlyn, “Kim wanted to deal with this with her own family in her own time, so I think that’s going to be for her to work through and process. When she feels like it, I’m sure she’ll say what she needs to say.”

Everything seemed to be amicable on the Kardashian side of things, but was it really? At the beginning of April Kris posted something on Instagram that many interpreted as a dig at Kanye. She showed off all the family’s personalized golf bags, and Kim’s notably had only the surname “Kardashian” rather than “Kardashian-West” on it.

Unsubstantiated rumors have been spreading about Kanye and Kris as well. In April 2021 Globe magazine reported a source as saying, “There’s not a day that goes by that Kris doesn’t flinch with fury over what Kanye did to Kim and the whole family in general. She thinks he’s being especially bitter and twisted and it’s obvious to her that he’s trying to ghost the whole Kardashian family like they never existed.”

And they went on, “Kris wants Kanye to say he’s sorry. Until that happens, she’ll have no issue calling him out and making life as difficult for him as possible. She has a lot of influence in Hollywood and plenty of dirt that will embarrass him whether it’s by plotlines on the Kardashian reality show, trickling information out, or rallying others to bring him down. He’d better watch out.”

But Kanye himself hasn’t said anything of the sort. He hasn't actually commented much at all about the divorce so far. Though the star is still making news. In March his net worth was announced as being a massive $6.6 billion – a lot more than the number was the previous year. Kris Jenner’s on the other hand? Well, that was a “mere” $190 million.

It’s all been inside sources who’ve spoken about what Kanye’s feelings might be – both about the divorce and Kris. Back in January, before the divorce filing, a source told Page Six magazine, “He understands Kim’s side has to spin that she is sick of him. In reality, he’s been sick of being involved with [the] Kardashians for a long while. Especially her mother, who looms large in all big decisions she makes.”

It came out during the divorce proceedings that both Kim and Kanye gave “irreconcilable differences” as their reason for ending the marriage. And so far, custody arrangements have been going smoothly. But will it last, with so many clashing personalities involved? We’ll just have to wait and see. After all, the Kardashians recently signed a new deal with Hulu, so even once KUWTK finishes there’ll be plenty more reality TV to come.