Last night, Page Six broke the news that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are close to filing for divorce. People, E!, TMZ, Entertainment Tonight, and Us Weeklylater published their own reports,
with sources telling the outlets that Kardashian hasn't filed yet but knows her marriage has been over for a while. The sources collectively painted a stark picture of what things are like in the Kardashian-West marriage now and why the relationship fell apart.
Here, all that has come out about why the two are separating.
Page Six spoke to multiple sources, who gave insight on why the relationship isn't working for Kardashian or West.
Kardashian and West are separating in part because Kardashian has reached her limit with West. “She is serious about taking the bar exam and becoming a lawyer, she is serious about her prison reform campaign," one source said. "Meanwhile Kanye is talking about running for president and saying other crazy s–t, and she’s just had enough of it.”
West, meanwhile, has had enough of the Kardashian family and their reality show. "[He] is completely over the entire family…He wants nothing to do with them,” a second source said. That source added that he finds their show now to be “unbearable.”
TMZ revealed Kardashian and West are in counseling, with divorce very much on the table. Their issues aren't "contentious," but they have "a lot of differences," from lifestyle to politics.
The outlet was told by multiple sources that Kardashian and West have been living separately "for a few months," with West based in Wyoming and Kardashian based in Los Angeles. The outlet described their marriage as being in "deep trouble" for the second half of 2020. "Kim was ready to pull the plug on the marriage at one point, but it was when Kanye was going through a serious bipolar episode and she felt it was cruel to do it when he wasn't well," the outlet wrote.
The outlet also detailed why they're having issues, describing the problems as "neither contentious nor ugly, but they do have lots of differences from lifestyle to politics. They are, however, fully aligned on parenting." Sources emphasized to TMZ that there's no third party.
Peopleechoed TMZ's report that Kardashian and West are in counseling, adding West "knows" Kardashian is "done" with the marriage. Kardashian filing for divorce "will happen eventually, but she’s waffling," one source said.
One of People's sources got insight on how West is feeling about that. "She has had enough," that source said, "and she told him that she wants some space to figure out her future."
West is bracing for the filing, although he doesn't know when it'll happen, People reports. The outlet's source said, "He’s okay. He’s sad, but okay. He knows the inevitable will happen, and he knows that it’s coming soon."
A second source told People that they're still trying to save their marriage, calling it "not over yet." A third source explained, "Kim and Kanye are in counseling and exploring their options. They have been working on their marriage for a long time, but no decision has been made."
Us Weeklyreports that Kardashian and West had a big fight in December that was a final straw. More generally, a source said, Kardashian has struggled to deal with West's "unpredictable" behavior and resistance to getting treatment for his mental health.
In the summer of 2020, Kardashian and West, who suffers from bipolar depression, had been on the cusp of divorcing and went on an emergency vacation to try to save their marriage. West had been in the midst of a manic episode leading up to that trip. During a July South Carolina campaign rally, West brought up the possibility of Kardashian divorcing him because he publicly spoke about how he and Kardashian discussed terminating her first pregnancy with North West during an anti-abortion rant.
People reported in September that West promised on that trip to take his medication. He didn't keep his word. "He's off his meds," the source claimed at the time. "He promised he'd stay on them. The last time, part of his negotiation with Kim was that he'd get back on his medication and he would work very hard to control his impulses. He made a lot of promises. And now those promises are broken, less than a month later."
Now, Us Weekly was told by a source that Kardashian is just done.“Kim is done dealing with Kanye’s unpredictable behavior, she has tried to get him into treatment for his mental health and all attempts have been unsuccessful,” the source said. “No one can tell Kanye what to do other than Kanye.” Kardashian's friends, the source added, “are surprised she has waited this long to file for divorce.”
A source told Us in a separate article that the couple had a bad fight in December that really changed their dynamic. “They had a big fight in early December,” the source said. “Kanye blew up at Kim and she was really upset. Things between them don’t seem to have healed since that.”
A second source said that a divorce happening was "only a matter of time," especially after his North West anti-abortion rant remarks. “She [Kardashian] didn’t just walk away,” that source said. “The comments about North and the abortion were the final confirmation. She will protect the children first, always.”
E! reports that Kardashian knows her marriage is over and is just trying to make the best decision for their four children—North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm—before making her final choice and filing for divorce.
One source said, "They've seen each other for the sake of the kids but have been living separately. Kim knows the marriage is over. She's known for a while."
The source added, "It's not about the marriage anymore, she'll always care for Kanye but it's over between them. Kim is only focused on what's best for the kids. It's a tough decision for her and she's figuring it out."
Entertainment Tonight reports that Kardashian and West haven't made "much headway" in counseling after being in it for several months, and Kardashian is dedicated to ending things amicably with West if she files.
"She knows what's best for her and their kids, so if things ended she would want them to end amicably so they can co-parent together as best as possible," the source said. "They have been living separate lives for months, so any issues they're having aren't a surprise to Kim’s family or friends. Kanye has been wanting to make it work, and Kim has tried for so long."
"Kanye and Kim have been trying to save their marriage but it's been difficult when he acts out," the source added. "She is focused on raising her kids and making sure they're in a safe, stable environment. [Kardashian] has felt overwhelmed trying to take care of him too."