There have been plenty of relationship woes for fans to follow on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. In the moment, the staged drama of the show can make it hard to remember that cast members aren’t portraying fictional characters. These are their real lives — even if they are sometimes embellished for the entertainment value.
Now that some time has passed, fans realize that the relationship between Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom ended sadly. They wish they could have seen a happier outcome for the pair.
Kardashian and Odom shocked the world when they got married just one month after they started dating. They tied the knot in 2009, and Kardashian became a frequent feature at Odom’s NBA games. The next year, the pair got awarded their own (brief-lived) reality spinoff called Khloe & Lamar.
The couple was certainly living in the spotlight, and they seemed to be building off of one another’s fame, eager to grow their popularity. Things began to deteriorate for the couple when Odom’s substance abuse became more and more pronounced.
In 2013, Odom was arrested for driving under the influence, and he went to rehab shortly after the incident. On top of those challenges, rumors surfaced that Odom had been unfaithful during the marriage, and one strain after another led to a high-profile divorce.
For many couples, divorce marks the end of their relationship, but for Odom and Kardashian, things continued to get more complex. Odom struggled in 2015 when he lost a few close friends and then was seen getting into a verbal altercation with Kardashian outside of a gym. In October of that year, Odom was found unconscious at a Nevada brothel.
Kardashian immediately rushed to the hospital to be with her ex, and it was clear that — no matter what happened between them — they still held love for one another. At the time, many fans speculated that the pair would reconcile when Odom recovered, but that didn’t happen. Both have moved on to other relationships, and their time together has stood as a historical memory for fans.
A Reddit thread asked about fans’ favorite past beaus for the Kardashian-Jenner sisters. The post was clearly designed to be a lighthearted way to sift through the drama and remember some favorite scenes from reality episodes of the past. However, things got decidedly more real and much heavier when commenters opened up about Kardashian and Odom.
“Lamar. It’s so sad to think of what happened between them and wishing it could have been different. They were soulmates 100%,” one wrote.
“When I watch earlier seasons I always root for Khloe and Lamar. They had a special relationship and I wish things were different,” another added.
The way things ended between them seems bittersweet for fans who are looking back. At the time, the drama of Odom’s substance abuse and the jokes about him being found in a brothel were crass and loud.
Now, though, fans recognize that there were two people who truly loved one another at the center of it all. Even though they have moved on with their lives, fans are still thinking about what could have been.