Skip to main content

It’s happening. After six years of marriage and a total of eight years together, Kim Kardashian West has filed for divorce from Kanye West. The news naturally sparked plenty of reactions online, which we couldn’t help but notice seemed to be glaringly different than the response she received when splitting from her former husband Kris Humphries.

Kim Kardashian West at the amfAR Gala New York at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City
Kim Kardashian West | Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

A look back at Kim Kardashian West and Kris Humphries’ relationship

After dating for six months, Kardashian West got engaged to Humphries in May 2011 (via Us Weekly). They had a three-month-long engagement before marrying in a lavish ceremony captured on her family’s show Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Then, just 72 days later, Kardashian West filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

Elaborating, she explained to Oprah Winfrey that she’d wanted to be a bride but found Humphries wasn’t “the one” shortly after they married. Still, she faced widespread criticism, with many people calling her attention-seeking and accusing her of exploiting their relationship for fame and fortune. Hashtags like #ThingsThatLastedLongerThanKimKardashiansMarriage also took over the Internet, as ABC News notes.

There’s no doubt that all of that weighed heavily on Kardashian West, but she tried to keep her head up. As she told Oprah: “I would rather have been beaten up in the media than live a life that was unhappy.”

Her divorce from Humphries was finalized in 2013 — a little more than a year after she started dating West.

Now, Kim Kardashian West’s relationship with Kanye West is coming to an end

Just a few months ahead of their nine-year relationship anniversary, Kardashian West filed for divorce from the Yeezus rapper. The news came after lots of controversy surrounding West, including when he launched an unlikely 2020 presidential bid, revealed personal information about getting Kardashian pregnant for the first time, and bashed Kris Jenner on Twitter.

Kardashian West has not yet publicly commented on what exactly caused her to file for divorce, but multiple sources have claimed the relationship grew strained in 2020.

“It’s gotten to the point where they haven’t spent time together as a married couple in months,” an insider told E! News. “They’ve seen each other for the sake of the kids but have been living separately. Kim knows the marriage is over. She’s known for a while.”

Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West
Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West | Toni Anne Barson/WireImage
Related

Kim Kardashian West Admits That She Wasted ‘Time and Energy’ In Her Relationships Before Kanye West

The collective response to Kardashian West’s filing has been, generally speaking, sympathetic. BuzzFeed compiled a bunch of tweets about the impending divorce where many people offered Kardashian West supportive words and even cheered her on for moving on.

It seems to stand in stark contrast to the response she received when splitting from Humphries. But at least, people seem to be being kinder to her this time. Let’s hope it stays this way.