Kim Kardashian reveals how her parent’s divorce taught her to handle her own

Kardashian and her ex-husband West finalised their divorce in November 2022

Kim Kardashian is opening up about what she’s learned from her parents and how she’s incorporated these lessons into her own life.

Kim’s father, Robert Kardashian, passed away 20 years ago in September. Speaking with GQ for its 28th Man of the Year issue, the 43-year-old explained how her father influenced her divorce from Kanye West, with who she shares four children.

Los Angeles Superior Court documents showed in November 2022 that there would be $200,000 (£167,000) per month of child support payments from West to Kim. The two were said to have “equal access” to their children: North, nine, Saint, six, Chicago, four, and Psalm, three, according to the documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

At the time of Robert and Kris’ divorce, Kim was only nine years old and said she never saw it coming until it happened. “I remember thinking, Please, Lord, don’t let them be getting a divorce. I never had an inkling that it would happen, but I knew that was what they were going to tell us. I felt it,” she told GQ.

When it came time for her own divorce, she looked back on the one she witnessed herself. “I did think about how my parents handled it with us. I just remember them being open,” Kim said.

She explained that she tried to be as open as possible when dealing with any questions her own children may have had at the time. “Ultimately, what matters is that kids feel loved and heard,” she told the outlet. “You want to be sensitive because they’re just kids, and it’s hard to go through no matter what age. You have to make sure that you only go to a level that they can understand. It’s okay to show a vulnerable side. You never go to a negative side.”

Kim went on to admit that she tried attending therapy before her marriage ended, and to get help with parenting advice she will occasionally speak with a child psychologist.

“I do have a therapist that only deals in child psychology that I talk to to get parenting tips and advice,” The Kardashians star said. “Sometimes I feel challenged by parenting. But I have the best group of friends and we talk about everything together, so that to me is therapy. I hit the lottery, the f***ing Mega Ball of friends.”

One of these friends is Allison Statter, who told GQ that she knew Kim when she was “pre-Kim” and understood how difficult it was for the Skims founder to go through with the divorce from the rapper.

“I know how scared she was to do it,” Statter told the outlet. “Cause deep down inside she wanted her family to stay together. And because she was like: ‘I don’t know what life is going to be like on the other side of this.’ I was just so proud of her.”

Both Statter and Kim’s sister Khloe Kardashian pointed out a difference in Kardashian’s demeanor after making the decision to divorce West, specifically that she had an increased sense of confidence.

“Not that she wasn’t confident before,” Khloe told GQ. “But it’s a different assurance that she has in herself. She knows she can do it on her own. She knows the power that she has within herself, as opposed to thinking the power was in someone else’s hands.”