Kim Kardashian described her marriage to Kanye West as emotionally complex and said she felt like she had “a bit of Stockholm syndrome” during their time together, revealing the toll their relationship took on her during the season seven premiere of The Kardashians.
“I always felt really bad and always protected and always wanted to help (him),” Kardashian said in a confessional, reflecting on how deeply she internalized the struggles in her marriage. “It is so f**king sad,” she added. “I should’ve stuck it out” or “I could’ve helped,” she recalled thinking, before admitting, “this was the first time I didn’t feel that responsibility personally.”
The term Stockholm syndrome typically describes a psychological response where hostages or abuse victims develop emotional bonds with their captors.
Kardashian used the term to explain the emotional grip she felt during her eight-year marriage to West, which ended in 2022. The couple shares four children: North, 12, Saint, 9, Chicago, 7, and Psalm, 6.
Later in the episode, Kardashian revealed she had a brain aneurysm due to the stress of her relationship with Kanye West.
“My ex will be in my life no matter what. We have four kids together,” Kardashian said and she also pushed back against the public perception that she could completely cut ties with West.
“That’s not my reality. This person – we have four kids together,” she said. “It’s very confusing, because it’ll be all this talk on the Internet of like, ‘I’m keeping the kids.’ He’s never once called and asked (to see them). But then I’ll wake up, and it’s on Twitter that I’m keeping the kids.”
“When it’s not true and not rational, I just have to… I can’t engage all the time,” she added. “It’s a divorce – not a kidnapping.”
While filming her upcoming legal drama All’s Fair, Kardashian admitted the emotional strain of dealing with West had resurfaced in physical ways.
“I haven’t had (skin condition) psoriasis since I got divorced, and it just started coming back,” she said. “I mean, I have psoriasis again. I felt more stressed, probably just because I had to super, super protect what I had to protect.”
Related