Despite Tristan Thompson‘s efforts to win his ex back, Khloe Kardashian is standing firm in her desire to keep their relationship strictly one of co-parenting one-year-old daughter True. “He knows how to pull out all the stops, and it’s a bit of an ego thing for him too,” a source tells PEOPLE. “She’s holding strong for now and not letting him back in romantically.” In Sunday night’s episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Thompson, 28, gifted Kardashian a diamond “promise ring” and a diamond necklace “Yes, he was trying to get her back but that footage from the show is old,” the source says of the gifts which were for her 35th birthday back in June.
The basketballer’s actions led the Good American designer to feel conflicted. “Lately Tristan has been telling me he’s sorry and that he loves and appreciates me,” Kardashian said in the episode. “But right now, the most I can handle is co-parenting. I really believe that Tristan wants more than that but that’s not what I’m about.” “I am conflicted as to if I should keep it or not. I just really want to make sure there are no expectations,” she said after calling Thompson to thank him for a diamond necklace he surprised her with. “If I keep something is that misleading? It’s the sweetest, kindest gesture, but it doesn’t mean a necklace is going to fix everything.”
Things got even more awkward when Kardashian was FaceTiming with Thompson and True. After Kardashian said goodnight to her daughter, Thompson ended the call by saying “all right, love you,” prompting the reality star to respond with, “bye … thank you.”
When her friends Malika and Khadijah Haqq couldn’t help but laugh at the awkward exchange, Kardashian reiterated that she doesn’t want to head back into old romantic territory with her ex.
“I don’t know what to say,” Kardashian said. “I just think now, I’ve already seen how this ride goes and I don’t enjoy it. So it’s like, why would I want to do it for a third time?” The NBA star and Kardashian broke up for good after he kissed longtime family friend Jordyn Woods in February, a transgression that came after he first allegedly cheated on Khloé just days before she gave birth to True in April of last year.
The reality star has since said she’s forgiven him, partly for the sake of their daughter. A source told PEOPLE last month that Thompson was still trying to date Kardashian, but she isn’t interested in a romantic relationship with him anymore. “It’s hard not to admire Khloé,” the source said of Thompson’s mindset. “She decided that she was going to be in a good place with Tristan, because of True and she really is. She refuses to be bitter and dwell on the past.” “Tristan still tries to date her, but she doesn’t seem interested,” the source added. “She seems very happy the way things are. She loves just being a mom and focusing on work.”