A timeline of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's relationship
As reports suggest the world's most famous couple are getting divorced, The Independent looks back on their love story
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are reportedly getting divorced, after they are believed to have spent the Christmas period apart.
Page Six reports that divorce is "imminent" for the couple, who have been married for seven years and have four children together.
The reality TV star and rapper, who together have more than 200 million followers on Instagram, first went public with their relationship nearly a decade ago in 2012, but how did their internet-shattering romance start? Here is a full story of their relationship.
2003
The couple met for nearly a decade before becoming romantically involved, became friends while Kim worked as a stylist for singer Brandy and was still married to Damon Thomas. "I met him, I think, in 2002 or 2003. I was recording a song with Brandy, and I was friends with her," Kim said during the 10th anniversary of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. "I asked her friends: Who is this Kim Kardajan? I didn't know what my name was."
2011
Kanye said he tried to dissuade Kim from marrying basketball player Kris Humphries, to whom she was infamously married for only 72 days.
"I started sending her pictures of, like, certain basketball players who used to be cool and now wear their pants up to here," she said on an episode of Kocktails with Khloe. "As if to say, this is your future."
April 2012
Kanye declared his love for Kim in his song "Cold". "And I admit it, I fell in love with Kim / Almost the same time she fell in love with him / Well that's great babe don't worry / Luckily Jay didn't leave him from the team," she rapped.
june 2012
#NoChurchInTheWild .... Proud girlfriend tweet 🐯🐗🐘🐒
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 1, 2012
Kim publicly named herself Kanye's girlfriend for the first time. The celebrity tweeted: "#NoChurchInTheWild .... Proud girlfriend tweet."
August 2012
Kanye infamously gave Kim's wardrobe a makeover during an episode of KUWTK, pulling many of her outfits. Later in the episode, Kim tells her sister Khloe that Kanye called a pair of her shoes "ghetto" hers.
December 2012
The couple confirmed that they were expecting their first child. Kanye first announced that Kim was pregnant while she was performing in Atlantic City.
#NoChurchInTheWild .... Proud girlfriend tweet 🐯🐗🐘🐒
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 1, 2012
May 2013
Kim and Kanye made their Met Gala debut as a couple. Kim, who was eight months pregnant at the time, attended as Kanye's guest. The reality star later told US Vogue that she had cried "all the way home" after her Givenchy dress was the subject of cruel memes.
June 2013
Kim gave birth to her daughter North on June 15 in Los Angeles.
October 2013
Kanye proposed to Kim as a surprise, renting the AT&T Park ballpark in San Francisco and inviting his family and friends to see him.
March 2014
Kanye and Kim appear on the cover of Vogue, becoming the first interracial couple to do so.
May 2014
The couple tied the knot in Italy, and a picture of them kissing at the ceremony became the most liked Instagram post of that year.
December 2015
Kim gave birth to the couple's first son, Saint West, on December 5.
Jan 2018
Chicago West was born through a surrogate on January 15. His name is a tribute to the city where Kanye grew up. Kim told Elle magazine that she decided to enlist the help of a surrogate mother after suffering from a dangerous condition called placenta accreta during her first two deliveries.
May 2019
Kim and Kanye's youngest son, Psalm West, was born to a surrogate mother on May 9.
May 2019
The couple renewed their vows in a small private ceremony on their fifth anniversary.
July 2019
After announcing his intention to run for president, Kanye spoke about his stance against abortion at his first political rally in South Carolina. The rapper said he stopped Kim from aborting his daughter North West, stating, "I called my girlfriend and told her we were going to have this child."
July 2020
Kanye launched a spiel on Twitter about Kim and her family, claiming that Kim and her mother Kris tried to "lock him up." The rapper also claimed that he had been "trying" to divorce Kim since 2018.
He tweeted: "I've been trying to get a divorce ever since Kim met Meek at Warldolf [sic] for prison reform," West was thought to be referring to a criminal justice summit attended by Kardashian and rapper Meek Mill. in November 2018.
"Meek is my man and he was respectful," West added in a later tweet. "That's my friend, Kim was out of line."
Days later, Kim addressed Kanye's mental health in a statement on his Instagram. "As many of you know, Kanye has bipolar disorder," she wrote. "Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand."
January 2021
Page Six reports that the couple is divorcing. The duo are believed to have spent the holiday season apart and West stayed at her ranch in Wyoming while Kardashian stayed in Los Angeles.
“Kim got Kanye to go there [Wyoming] so they could live separate lives and quietly work things out to separate and get divorced. She's done, ”a source told Page Six.
Meanwhile, a separate source who spoke on West's behalf told the publication that the musician “is completely above the entire [Kardashian] family. He wants nothing to do with them.
