Kim Kardashian has opened up about the lasting impact of her ‘toxic’ marriage to Kanye West – admitting she still finds it hard to date and detailing the struggles of co-parenting.
The reality star, 44, sat down with Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast, where she detailed her troubled nine-year relationship with the rapper, 48.
She explained that she was first drawn to Kanye because of his intellect, branding him ‘larger than life’ and saying they had ‘such a fun time’ together.
Yet things soon took a turn when Kanye, who has publicly struggled with his mental health, began to turn on Kim and her family.
‘When someone has like their first mental break, you want to be super supportive and you want to help figure that out and be there for them,’ she explained.
‘But when someone isn’t willing to make changes that I think would’ve been super healthy and beneficial, it makes it really hard to continue on in a relationship that can be toxic.’
Kim Kardashian has opened up about the lasting impact of her ‘toxic’ marriage to Kanye West – admitting she still finds it hard to date and detailing the troubles of co-parenting
Kim, who shares North, 12, Saint, nine, Chicago seven, and Psalm, five, with Kanye, also revealed she has never stopped him from seeing them – but he hasn’t reached out in months
Kim, who shares North, 12, Saint, nine, Chicago seven, and Psalm, five, with Kanye, added that having children made it much harder to leave and that she stuck around because she wanted to believe that Kanye would get better.
In 2016, Kanye was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after being hospitalised for a psychiatric emergency. However, he later claimed he was misdiagnosed.
Yet when things didn’t improve Kim knew it was time to leave and to show their children ‘a good example of setting boundaries.’
She explained that her own mental health began to suffer during her marriage, noting: ‘I had to save myself in order to be a better mum for everyone.
‘And I think when everyone’s older they’ll be able to understand it and see that all.’
Asked what was the ‘final straw’ for her, she mused: ‘There was just a lot of things that I wouldn’t deal with.
‘I didn’t like the talking bad about my kids’ grandmother, aunts – if someone feels that way, then we shouldn’t be together.
‘You know, airing out a lot of stuff, a lot of personal stuff.’
Kim went on to detail how her marriage to Kanye has had a lasting impact on her love life. Since they divorced in 2021, Kim has enjoyed romances with the likes of Pete Davidson
Kim continued: ‘Just not not feeling safe emotionally or even financially… I mean we had five Lamborghinis and I’d come home and they’d all be gone if he was in an episode.
‘And I’d be like, “Oh, hey where’s all our cars? My new car.” And it would be like, “oh, he gave them away to all of his friends.”
‘And then I’d come home again and at a different point we had five more Lamborghinis and then he’d wake up in another episode and they’d all be gone again.
‘But you didn’t know what you’re going to get [from Kanye] when you wake up. And that’s a really unsettling feeling. It’s a lack of stability.’
Kim added that it was particularly hard to watch when Kanye targeted her family during his infamous Twitter meltdowns – famously branding Kim’s mother Kris Jenner, Kris Jong Un.
‘It was really hard to like see my family get treated one way and then me being like, “I’m sorry, guys”, and like then stick with it,’ she recalled.
‘People couldn’t not see it. I think I got really disassociated and there was so many times where I was just really quiet and just trying to figure it all out.’
Despite this, she praised her ‘compassionate’ family for not trying to force her to leave Kanye and for allowing her space to make her own decisions.
She recalled: ‘They knew that I had a lot of love and respect for that relationship and four babies, and that I would have done anything to really make it work.’
Kim also confessed she was worried the public would turn on her for leaving Kanye while he appeared to be in the midst of a mental health crisis but that she doesn’t see the end of the marriage as a ‘failure’, noting they spent years together and have four children.
When Kim was dating SNL star Pete, Kanye famously fired off a series troubling social media posts about him and released a disturbing music video where he appeared to bury a claymation version of him – with Kim admitting it made her ‘sad’ to see
Since their split, Kanye has taken to X/Twitter several times to claim Kim hasn’t granted him access to their children – tweeting that she had ‘kidnapped’ their two sons and two daughters.
Yet as Kim mused: ‘It’s not a kidnapping, it’s a divorce.’
She clarified: ‘I raise the kids full time. They live with me and I welcome a great healthy relationship with my kids and their dad, and I think he knows that.
‘I push for it all the time, but I also protect them when, you know, it’s time for that. And it goes in waves and phases and it’s a lot of work.
Asked when Kanye last saw his children, Kim replied: ‘Whenever he’ll call for them and ask. It’s probably been a couple months since we’ve heard from him.’
Yet she insisted that her children were ‘healthy and happy’ and that she had explained to them that their father spends a lot of time travelling and on tour.
‘They love their life and their routine,’ she mused. ‘And I think my job as their mum is just to make sure that they stick to their routine.
‘It’s not easy no matter what co-parenting with anyone – it’s just the one thing that gets me is that there’s this narrative that I keep the kids away from him. I’ve never once done that.
‘And there’s been so many times where I’ve been like, “Ah, I just want to show all of these texts, what are you talking about?”
‘It’s more just the narrative that I think it’s all good and we’re living our life and then I just wake up and there’s all these tweets about how I’ve kidnapped the kids?!’
Daily Mail has contacted Kanye’s representatives for comment.
![Reflecting on the Eazy music video, Kim admitted: 'That made me feel really sad. That really wasn't fair for [Pete]. And I felt so sad and and sorry for him. He was such a great man'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/10/15/12/103006325-15194017-image-a-5_1760527556297.jpg)
Reflecting on the Eazy music video, Kim admitted: ‘That made me feel really sad. That really wasn’t fair for [Pete]. And I felt so sad and and sorry for him. He was such a great man’
Kim went on to detail how her marriage to Kanye has had a lasting impact on her love life.
Since they divorced in 2021, Kim has enjoyed romances with the likes of Pete Davidson and Odell Beckham Jr.
Kim explained: ‘There has been situations where I’ll get close to someone, then it’s like, “wait, wait, wait, I don’t really want to deal with your ex. I don’t want to deal if he’s going to say something”.
‘So it has been a little frustrating but then I get “my” person wouldn’t care about that.’
When Kim was dating SNL star Pete, Kanye famously fired off a series of troubling social media posts about him and released a disturbing music video where he appeared to bury a claymation version of the comic.
Reflecting on the Eazy music video, Kim admitted: ‘That made me feel really sad. That really wasn’t fair for [Pete].
‘And I felt so sad and and sorry for him. He was such a great man that was like, “I got this, don’t worry it’s all good!” And it just must suck to be put in that position.
‘It’s had me put up this guard where I don’t want to put anyone in that position. So, it’s easier if I just maybe stay away… but then I I can’t live my life like that.’
Kim is currently single and revealed this is the longest she has ever not been in a relationship.
Yet she insisted that she had no desire to jump into another relationship, explaining: ‘I am single and I feel totally content.
‘I have my kids to raise. I have a life that like requires a lot of my attention. And my kids just really need me right now.
‘So I don’t know how I would fit something else in. So I’m just not looking.’