Not holding back. Kim Kardashian broke down into tears while offering a rare glimpse into her coparenting dynamic with Kanye West.
“I definitely protected him, and I still will in the eyes of my kids. For my kids. So, in my home, my kids don’t know anything that goes on [in] the outside world,” Kardashian, 42, explained on the “Angie Martinez IRL” podcast, which was posted on Monday, December 26.
The reality star recalled the attempts she continues to make to protect her children from seeing West’s controversial social media commentary. (The former couple share North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 3.)
“I am holding on by a thread. I know that I am so close to that not happening, but while it is still that way, I will protect that to the end of the Earth as long as I can. My kids don’t know anything,” she continued. “So, at school, some of my best friends are the teachers so I know what goes on at recess and lunch time. I hear what is being talked about.”
Kardashian said she makes an effort to “protect” what her kids are exposed to online.
“It is [a full-time job]. It is worth it because I think that of course I want to disassociate in specific thoughts and things being said because that is not me,” the Hulu personality shared. “But at the same time in my home I could be going through something, but if we are riding to school and they want to listen to their dad’s music — no matter what we are going through — I have to have that smile on my face and blast his music and sing along with my kids. [I can] act like nothing is wrong and as soon as I drop them off, I can have a good cry.”
The California native ultimately burst into tears when discussing how her relationship with late father Robert Kardashian influenced her decisions.
“I had the best dad. I don’t want to get emotional, but it’s just been a day for me. It is hard. Coparenting is really f—king hard,” she admitted. “I had the best dad and the best experiences, and that is all I want for my kids. As long as they can have that, that is what I want for them.”
Kim added: “If they don’t know things that are being said, why would I ever bring that energy to them? That is real, heavy, grownup s—t that they are not ready to deal with. When they are, we will have those conversations. One day my kids will thank me for not sitting her and bashing their dad. I could.”
The Skim founder’s candid comments about her relationship with the musician, 45, comes one month after their divorce was finalized. After originally filing the paperwork to end her marriage in February 2021, Kim addressed her public ups and downs with West.
“We went off and on. You know, we went about eight months without even speaking to each other at the beginning of the divorce,” she said on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast in April, one month after she was declared legally single. “I mean, he would still see the kids and stuff. Him and I just took a minute of not talking.”
Kim noted that she developed a new normal with the father of her kids.
“And I think in relationships, it’ll be like that. I hope we, you know, are the coparenting goals at the end of the day,” she added. “I think we just have a different kind of platform now. But you know, it doesn’t mean that maybe because he expressed himself in a certain way that he’s not an amazing person and amazing friend. I do believe that we’ll have that again. I’m always really hopeful.”
The Yeezy designer, for his part, opened up about how the pair have remained in touch for their family. “Even to this day, I’ll still give Kim advice on things that could help because that’s going to go to the kids,” he said on the “Alo Mind Full” podcast in September. “She’s still got them 80 percent of the time, [to] raise those children. So what people saw when I was going back and forth is that I still have to be able to throw my version of what people would throw into the curriculum.”
