The Complete Timeline Of Kim Kardashian & Kanye West's Surprisingly Solid Relationship & Marriage
At first it seemed like a PR stunt, but Kimye may just have the kind of marriage dreams are made of.
Getty Kim Kardashian, 39, and Kanye West, 42, have surprised the world by managing to stay happily coupled for the past (close to) eight years.
The made-for-reality-TV couple first got together in 2012, and fans of both the rapper and the reality star were just kind of waiting for the bottom to fall out from their relationship.
But they've weathered more than their fair share of storms, and the parents of four beautiful kids — North (6), Saint (4), Chicago (almost 2) and Psalm (just shy of 8 months) — seem to come out of each on stronger than before.
On Christmas Day, December 25, Kanye dropped his latest album, "Jesus Is Born," with 19-songs featuring West as orchestrator only to his Sunday Gospel Choir. The follow-up that comes just two months after he released "Jesus Is King" on October 25.
Looking back over the course of Kimye's nearly two decades of history, it's easy to see that while there were times they could have crashed and burned, they've instead made a conscious choice to support one another over and over again.
Here's a look back at the timeline of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's friendship, relationship and marriage.
1. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West first met before the world knew her name around late 2003.
Before Kim and Kanye became Kimye they were just people who kinda knew each other.
In 2017's "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" 10th Anniversary Special, Kim told host, creator and executive producer Ryan Seacrest that she and Kanye met during the period of time when he was working on "Talk About Our Love," the 2004 single he co-wrote and performed with Brandy. West, Kardashian, says, was clueless about who she even was.
“He was recording a song with Brandy, and I was her friend. I vividly remember hanging out with him, and then they did a video together, so I’d see him a few times," Kim recalled. "He was asking his friends, 'Who is this Kim Kardajan?' He didn’t know what my name was.”
In fairness to Kanye, Kim wasn't yet the global phenomenon she is now. At that point, she was appearing only occasionally as a guest on her friend Paris Hilton's reality show "The Simple Life," and the soon-to-be infamous sex tape dropped by her ex-boyfriend (and Brandy's brother) Ray J hadn't been leaked yet.
2. Kardashian and West almost co-starred in a 2007 sketch comedy TV show with puppets.
Yes, really.
The two had a chance to get to know each other better in 2007 when Kim came on board one of Kanye's lesser-known projects, a "hiphop 'Muppet Show'" called "Alligator Boots."
The concept itself sounds like the show could have been a lot of fun, especially when you consider comedian Jordan Peele was on board as a writer.
And when West decided he "wanted to dress up like a stormtrooper for a sketch with a costar clad as 'slave Leia' from 'Return of the Jedi,'" he decided Kardashian was the only woman who could fill the role of his love interest.
Unfortunately, despite giving West and his team a $1 million budget they used in five days shooting a pilot on Jim Henson's lot, Comedy Central decided to pass on the show — leaving Kim and Kanye to once again go their separate ways.
3. Kardashian took a detour from West, becoming Mrs. Kris Humphries in 2011.
Kim, who was briefly married for a first time to music producer Damon Thomas from 2000-2003, admits Kanye was there the background even before they became a couple — and even while she pursued other romantic relationships.
“Right before I got married to Kris Humphries," Kardashian has said, "[Kanye and I] were talking, and I just went in a different direction.”
That direction took her down the aisle, where she married the NBA player in Montecito, CA on August 20, 2011 in a televised affair titled "Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event." But just 72 days later, the only direction Kardashian was headed in was toward a divorce court.
4. Kanye and Kim began dating about 6 months after her October 31, 2011 separation from Humphries.
Rumors of romance between Kim and Kanye began surfacing before they officially came out as a couple, with Kim's family playing coy about what was going on between the pair.
In a June 2012 episode of KUWTK, big sister Kourtney addressed the situation, saying, "Kim and Kanye have been friends for years. They've been hanging out lately and I have no idea if it's serious or not because I haven't talked to her about it."
Later in the same episode, Kim picks Kourtney up in a flashy sports car she admitted belongs to Kanye.
"So, Kanye and I, you know we have a lot of things in common," Kim then explains during a confessional. "We both just love cars. So what's the big deal? I'm just borrowing my friend's car."
In retrospect, it seems West had been carrying a torch for Kim since before her marriage to Humphries.
In April 2012, West dropped his single "Cold" with DJ Khaled, which contained these lyrics:
"And I'll admit, I had fell in love with Kim
Around the same time she had fell in love with him
Well that's cool, baby girl, do ya thang
Lucky I ain't had Jay drop him from the team"
These lines clearly hinted about Kim's marriage to Humphries, who at that time played for the New Jersey Nets, the NBA team Kanye's pal Jay-Z held partial ownership of until after moving the team to Brooklyn and then selling his stake in 2013.
Setting the record straight in 2017, Kardashian filled Seacrest and KUWTK viewers in on the details.
"I think I had to go through that to figure out what I wanted," She said. "After my breakup, I was feeling really low and down and [Kanye] said, 'Just come to Paris and see my fashion show.' He jokes that he put on this whole fashion show just to get a date with me. So I went there and I stayed with him, and that’s where we started dating. I swear from the moment I landed, I fell madly in love with him and I thought, 'Oh my God, why didn’t I do this sooner?' Like, this is what real life is like — love and fun and real support."
5. Along came baby North West to make three in June 2013.
By the end of 2012, the couple made it OB/GYN official when they announced that they were expecting their first child together.
But what should have been a romantic time for the new family was marred somewhat by the fact that Kim was still legally married to Kris Humphries.
In a declaration supporting her motion to move the proceedings along more expeditiously, Kim told the court, "I do not want to be married to [Humphries] when I have my baby."
Kim's marriage to Humphries may technically have lasted only three and a half months, but their divorce didn't become final until almost one and a half years later on June 3, 2013.
Kimye's daughter North was born just two weeks later on June 15, 2013.
5. West proposed in October 2013, presenting Kim with a 15 carat diamond ring.
Six months after the birth of their baby girl, Kanye proposed marriage to Kim in an appropriately (for them) huge way.
The rapper rented out the San Francisco Giants' stadium, where he got down on one knee and presented his soon-to-be-bride with a 15 carat D flawless cushion-cut diamond ring before her family filed out onto the field in formal attired and the jumbotron posted the message, "Please marry meeee!!!” — all while KWUTK cameras rolled, of course.
Obviously, her answer was yes.
6. The couple married in Italy in May 2014.
On May 24, 2014, Kim and Kanye had a ridiculously gorgeous wedding at Forte di Belvedere in Florence, Italy, a 16th century fort built to protect the famous Medici banking family. None other than Michelangelo served as the head engineer, and Galileo is said to have been a frequent guest.
Kim went with a completely classic look for the nuptials in a Givenchy gown and flowing hair.
She periodically posts throwback pics from the wedding on her social media and they're just as breathtaking now as they were then.
7. Kim and Kanye welcomed son Saint in 2015.
Not long after getting married, the couple started trying to conceive a second child.
Kim comically complained to her sisters, "I've been having sex 500 times a day."
The struggle paid off, and the two were able to successfully conceive their son Saint, who was born on December 5, 2015.
8. They stood by each other after Kim was robbed at gunpoint and Kanye was hospitalized in 2016.
2016 was a rough year for the couple.
On October 3, Kim was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room. The nightmarish attack, during which Kim's wrists, ankles and mouth were bound with tape and she was left on the bathroom floor, left her anxious and shaken for months.
For the record, Kardashian is still in possession of her original engagement ring. The stolen 20 carat emerald cut diamond ring worth $4.5 million was an "upgrade" gifted to her by West just a few months earlier.
Then in November, Kanye, was hospitalized for exhaustion after the Los Angeles Police responded to call they then referred to the Los Angeles Fire Department, who referred to the incident as a "psychiatric emergency" in the dispatch call.
The couple stuck by each other through incredibly tough times that would have understandably torn others apart.
9. Kardashian and West grew their family — having daughter Chicago and son Psalm with the help of surrogates.
After recovering from the traumas of 2016, the couple started planning for a future with more children. But the process was complicated because of complications Kim experienced during her prior pregnancies with North and Saint.
In a 2017 interview, Kardashian West revealed that while she wanted more children, medically, things were complicated, as she has previously experienced both preeclampsia and placenta accreta.
Preeclampsia is defined as "when a pregnant woman has high blood pressure, protein in her urine, and swelling in her legs, feet, and hands [and can lead to eclampsia], a serious condition that can have health risks for mom and baby and, in rare cases, cause death."
Placenta accreta is "a serious pregnancy condition that occurs when the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall. Typically, the placenta detaches from the uterine wall after childbirth. With placenta accreta, part or all of the placenta remains attached. This can cause severe blood loss after delivery."
Kim and Kanye eventually opted to grow their family using gestational surrogates — women who carry the fetus until birth but have no genetic tie to the child.
Daughter Chicago was born on January 15, 2018 and son Psalm arrived on May 9, 2019.
10. The couple continue to love over each other even, as they struggle a bit with his newfound Christian faith
2019 found Kanye vigorously exploring his Christian faith.
On Sunday, January 6, he held his first Sunday Service, invite only gatherings held at various locations throughout the Los Angeles area. In order to attend, worshippers must first sign non-disclosure agreements.
He recently performed at Reverand Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, partly in an effort to promote his album "Jesus Is King," but also as yet another facet of his growing interest in leading others in prayer, a move which appears to have Kim's full support.
However, his religion has him feeling differently about the image he and his family put forward these days and lately he's taken to criticizing Kim's choices.
During a recent argument captured by cameras for KUWTK, West told Kardashian her outfit for the Met Gala was too sexy.
"I went through this transition where being a rapper, looking at all these girls and looking at my wife, like, ‘Oh my girl needs to be just like the other girls showing their body off,’" he stated. "I didn’t realize that that was affecting my soul and my spirit as someone who is married and the father of now ... about to be four kids. A corset is a form of underwear, it’s hot, for who though?”
Kim wasn't having it.
“So the night before the Met you’re going to come in here and say that you’re not into a corset vibe?” Kim responded. “You’re giving me really bad anxiety. You knew last night I had really bad anxiety and I don’t need any more negative energy and for you say you’re now not into me wearing a tight dress.
"You built me up to be this sexy person and confidence and all this, and just because you’re on a journey and transformation doesn’t mean I’m in the same spot with you,” she concluded.
After huffing, "Okay, alright. Okay, alright cool," Kanye left the room.
Kardashian won the day, wearing the dress to much acclaim.
11. In the meantime, Kardashian West is hard at work studying to be a lawyer like a father.
Meanwhile, Kim has started a process of getting certified to practice law in order to advance the cause of criminal justice reform.
She has already successfully lobbied for the release of several prisoners and appears to be hard at work pursuing her passion.
At the end of the day, Kim and Kanye actually seem to have a good handle on their marriage.
They have their share of problems but they seem to also have their share of coping mechanisms to work their problems out.
Here's hoping we can keep on keeping up with the Kardashian-West family for years to come.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.