Kim and Kanye's marital troubles are starting to play out on the family's reality show.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's marital troubles are starting to play out on Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
On Thursday's new episode of the show's 20th and final season, the reality star is seen dealing with tensions in her marriage while trying to keep the most personal details away from the cameras.
During a family lunch, Kim is outside talking on the phone about possibly flying to Wyoming to see her husband, following a slew of headline-making social media posts that called out her and their family.
"Kanye's been in Wyoming and he's been posting a lot of things on social media," Kim explained to the KUWTK cameras. "That is a little bit frustrating, but you just have to kind of separate yourself from what's going on at home and what's going on on the internet.
"I just feel like she's struggling a bit, with all this stuff going on," mom Kris Jenner worried, encouraging daughters Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian to have a girls night with their sister, in order to take her mind off the pressures of her marriage and journey to become a lawyer. "I don't know how she's dealing with the stress of it all, that's what I worry about. She's always the calm in the storm, and she's got a lot on her plate."
"She can't possibly navigate this on her own," Kourtney agreed.
Last July, Kanye took to his Twitter account to fire off a series of since-deleted tweets aimed at Kim and Kris. A source told ET at the time that Kim was "completely devastated" by the public messages, and was hoping to get her husband help. The "Wash Us in the Blood" rapper has been vocal in the past about his struggles with bipolar disorder, even rapping about mental illness on his 2018 album, Ye.
"Kim has been trying to get Kanye help for his recent episode but he's refused it," a source told ET at the time. "Kim has always been public about everything in her life, but with Kanye and him being bipolar, she has always respected to keep that more private and within the family."
In a statement on her Instagram story, Kim addressed Kanye's tweets, calling her husband "a brilliant but complicated person."
"I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions," she wrote. "He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of being an artist and a Black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words sometimes do not align with his intentions."
"We as a society talk about giving grace to the issue of mental health as a whole, however we should also give it to the individuals who are living with it in times when they need it the most. I kindly ask that the media and public give us the compassion and empathy that is needed so that we can get through this," she added. "Thank you for those who have expressed concern for Kanye's well being and for your understanding."
On Thursday's episode of KUWTK, Kourtney and Khloe did end up hosting a girls' night for Kim at the family's Malibu rental home, which she said she was grateful for: "There's so many f***ing stressful things going on, that I needed this the most," Kim shared.
However, the topic of Kanye did come up at least once, when Kourtney admitted that Kim's husband had called her recently to discuss tensions within the family.
"He said it would be nice to be able to say things," she recounted. "I said, 'Yeah, say what you want to say. Maybe it will start people thinking a certain way or getting a thought in their head, but did you have to say those tweets publicly?' And he said, 'No, you're right. I shouldn't say that publicly.'"
The next morning, Kim was without a hangover, but still keeping most of her feelings to herself, telling Khloe, "I think sometimes I just have to figure things out on my own. I'm gonna go to Wyoming for a minute and just figure it out."
"My life with Kanye, I got this," Kim told the cameras. "I'm dealing with it on my own, it's gonna be OK."
Kim officially filed for a divorce from Kanye on Feb. 19, after six years of marriage. A source told ET that they are asking for joint legal and physical custody of their four children -- North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm -- and are committed to co-parenting together.
A second source told ET that their children remain the number one priority for the former couple.
"Kim filing for divorce from Kanye is just a formal part of the process," the source said. "The couple has been done for a while and have been amicable for a while. At the end of the day, Kanye and Kim love each other immensely but knew it was time to call it quits. Their children are their number one priority and no matter what will maintain a positive relationship for them."
See more on the split in the video below.
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