Kim Kardashian Revealed That It's "Really F---ing Hard" To Co-Parent with Kanye West
Kardashian was brought to tears while reflecting on what it's been like to parent alongside her ex-husband.
Co-parenting is no easy feat, especially when divorce can be so messy. Kim Kardashian might be someone who knows that best especially with such a public divorce and an ex-husband constantly in the public eye.
Kardashian, 42, opened up about the struggles of coparenting with ex-husband Kanye West, 45, on the Angie Martinez IRL podcast. She got real about divorce, protecting her four kids from the media, and how her own late father shaped her perspective on parenthood.
When it comes to coparenting with West, she admitted to Martinez that there is nothing easy about it. “Co-parenting is really f---ing hard," Kardashian said, holding back tears.
Kardashian and West share daughters North, 9, Chicago, 4, and sons Saint, 6, and Psalm, 3. The former couple finalized their divorce in November 2022. Documents obtained by People state that the two will have joint physical and legal custody of their four children.
West is required to pay Kardashian $200,000 a month in child support. The rapper will also be responsible for half of the children's medical, educational, and security expenses.
The reality TV star explained that her main priority has been and is to protect her kids from the news cycles as well as the drama that West may bring to light on social media.
“If they don't know things that are being said, why would I ever bring that energy to them? That is real, heavy, grownup s--- that they are not ready to deal with,” she said. “When they are, we will have those conversations. One day, my kids will thank me for not sitting here and bashing their dad. I could,” she added.
As for Kardashian’s relationship with West, there may not be much there anymore, but more her kids, she will continue to protect his image for her children’s sake.
“I definitely protected him,” she explained, “and I still will in the eyes of my kids. For my kids. So, in my home, my kids don't know anything that goes on [in] the outside world.”
Though she is working to keep her kids protected from the messiness of their divorce, she is not naive to the fact that there is a definite inevitability that her children will find out all the details about their parents’ divorce and their dad’s constant controversies.
“I am holding on by a thread. I know that I am so close to that not happening,” she continued. “but while it is still that way, I will protect that to the end of the Earth as long as I can.”
She told Martinez that if her kids want to enjoy their dad’s music or talk about their dad, Kardashian will put on a brave face and smile along with her kids. She would rather let her true emotions about West and their coparenting situation out in private.
“If we are riding to school, and they want to listen to their dad's music — no matter what we are going through — I have to have that smile on my face and blast his music and sing along with my kids. [I can] act like nothing is wrong and as soon as I drop them off, I can have a good cry,” she explained.
The mom of four then explained to Martinez that her expectations for what a dad should be was shaped by her own father — Robert Kardashian, who died in 2003.
“I had the best dad, and I had the best memories and the greatest experience and that’s all I want for my kids,” Kardashian said while breaking down in tears. “That’s what I would want for them.”
