Real Reason Behind Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom Split?

Lamar Odom has been open about how he feels about his ex-wife, Khloé Kardashian. He has talked about their relationship while on season 3 of Celebrity Big Brother, and he gave more details about their split in his January 2023 special, Lamar Odom: Sex, Drugs & Kardashians. So why did Khloé and Lamar break up?

Khloé Kardashian, known from Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and former NBA player Lamar Odom married in September 2009, just one month after they first met.

Their relationship was shown on the Kardashian-Jenner family’s reality show, and they even had their own spinoff, Khloé & Lamar, which aired for two seasons in 2011 and 2012.

Khloé has said that she “never wanted” to do the show with Lamar. She explained, “He sold it to E!, and I let it happen because I wanted him to be happy. I was the one who canceled it. It was way too much,” she told THR.

Although this seemed to be a point of tension in their marriage, their relationship didn’t show serious problems until Lamar was arrested in 2013 for driving under the influence. Lamar pleaded no contest and was sentenced to three years of probation. After the arrest, he entered rehab but left the very next day.

Why Did Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom Split?

During their marriage, the couple faced several cheating rumors involving Lamar, which both Khloé and Lamar have since confirmed.

“Lamar was so great at making me feel like I was the only one and I’m this princess. I never speculated cheating … so I didn’t know about cheating … until before the DUI,” Khloé said in a 2016 interview with Howard Stern. “It is humiliating on any level, but I found out he was cheating on me the majority of our marriage, I just didn’t know.”

Lamar, reflecting on his actions, called his infidelity one of his biggest regrets. “I would probably say it was the first time I decided to cheat on Khloé,” Lamar shared on The Morning Hustle in February 2021. “I would rewind that back and take those things back and never let that happen.”

Lamar, reflecting on his actions, called his infidelity one of his biggest regrets. “I would probably say it was the first time I decided to cheat on Khloé,” Lamar shared on The Morning Hustle in February 2021. “I would rewind that back and take those things back and never let that happen.”

When Did Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom Split?

In December 2013, Khloé filed for divorce from Lamar. However, the divorce proceedings were paused when Lamar was found unresponsive at a brothel in Nevada in 2015 after a near-fatal overdose. Lamar credits Khloé with helping him recover, calling her his “angel.”

“When I woke up out of the coma, my memory was terrible and I couldn’t walk or talk,” he told Buzzfeed News. “Just her spirit, always being there, her bringing pictures of my mother, my grandmother, just to help me bring my memory back.”

Khloé has seemingly moved on from Lamar. She shares her daughter, True Thompson, with her ex-boyfriend Tristan Thompson, with whom she had an on-and-off relationship from 2016 to 2021.

What Has Lamar Odom Said About His Marriage to Khloé Kardashian?

Lamar was engaged to Sabrina Parr, but they ended their relationship in 2020. He made headlines on Big Brother, which aired in February 2022, when he openly expressed his feelings for Khloé.

“I miss her so much. I wish I could take that time back,” he said on the show, calling her his “one and only.”

Lamar also spoke about his marriage to Khloé in his special, Lamar Odom: Sex, Drugs & Kardashians, which premiered on January 2, 2023.

Lamar admitted he was unsure when asked if he wanted to get back together with Khloé. “I would love to just take Khloé out to dinner,” Lamar said. “I’m too shy and I’m a Scorpio and I hate being told no or being denied. I’m afraid.”

The retired athlete also talked about his many cheating scandals during their marriage. “It seemed like they all came out at one time,” he said about the media’s attention on his infidelity. “I’m having full-blown relationships on the road. My wife is Khloé Kardashian, I’m bugging.”

“I’m laughing out of embarrassment right now — how [did I think I] was going to get out of that one?” he continued. “Like, what could I actually tell Khloé to leave her for a couple of hours to even, like, leave to go do drugs with some random woman?”

Lamar explained that he was using drugs heavily at the time of the affairs. “[One] woman actually gets into my phone and actually calls Khloé and goes, ‘You gotta come get him. He’s f—king going crazy. He’s gonna kill himself,’” he revealed. “They took me to go get help that night.”

Despite not being a great husband, Lamar praised Khloé as a “good wife” when it came to his drug issues. “She wasn’t dismissive or [saying], ‘Get away from me.’ … She was protective and wanted to protect me even more. She [stood by me],” he shared. “Behind the scenes, I put her through some s—t. Like s—t that y’all don’t know. … The stories that y’all don’t know is, like, really crazy.”

Lamar also expressed his feelings about how Tristan’s cheating affected Khloé. “When she gets hurt, of course that hurts me,” said Lamar, who is a father of three. “I think what hurts me more is that it’s not my place to protect her. I can only protect her if she says, ‘Lamar, I need your help with this.’”

Lamar Odom Admitted That He Still Misses Khloé Kardashian

Despite their breakup, Lamar and Khloé have seemed to stay on good terms over the years. In March 2024, Lamar spoke about his relationship with Khloé. E! News asked Lamar what he would say to Khloé if they crossed paths again.

“That I love her, and that I’m grateful and that I miss her,” Lamar said. “And I wish her and her kids the best.”

Lamar added that he and Khloé hadn’t seen each other “in a long time,” but Khloé still holds a place in his heart.

“I’m only speaking for myself, but it’d be hard to really forget somebody after you married them after 30 days,” Lamar explained. “[It’s] probably impactful, you know, for the rest of your life, whether you stay with them or not.”