8 Times Kanye West Was Controlling, Unfaithful & Possessive Over Kim Kardashian Before Their Divorce
If you thought their divorce was toxic, wait until you hear about their marriage.
Getty / YouTube Though it’s hard to remember now, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian once appeared to have a picture perfect marriage.
Before West’s threatening Instagram posts towards Kardashian’s new boyfriend, Pete Davidson, and his constant criticism of her parenting, the couple were once considered one of the strongest, most loyal celebrity couples.
However, as is evident now, their nearly seven year marriage wasn’t as happy as it seemed.
In fact, some details about their relationship seem somewhat toxic in hindsight.
Here are 8 times Kanye West was a toxic husband to Kim Kardashian.
1. Kanye West allegedly cheated on Kim Kardashian after their first two kids were born.
When West released his song “Hurricane” in 2021, some of the lyrics appeared to confirm a rumor that the rapper had been unfaithful to his wife during their marriage, even after two of their four kids were born.
“Here I go actin’ too rich / Here I go with a new chick / And I know what the truth is / Still playin’ after two kids,” he rapped.
The Sun even claimed that West had cheated on Kardashian with an A-List singer.
“At the time it happened, Kanye was mainly living in his bachelor pad in Hollywood because it was closer to his studio and he wasn’t going to go home to Kim and newborn baby when he’d been partying late in the studio,” a source told the newspaper.
2. Kim Kardashian allegedly felt pressured to lose weight to impress Kanye West.
What makes the infidelity even worse is the allegation that it made Kardashian feel like she had to quickly lose the weight she gained while pregnant with her son, Saint.
“It’s really sad,” the insider claimed. “She blamed herself and vowed to ‘bounce back’ hotter than ever.”
And while the insider’s claims may be false, we have seen West take a rather intense interest in his wife’s fitness.
In an episode of “Keeping Up With Kardashian” filmed before Kardashian got pregnant with Saint, the reality TV star revealed West had lashed out at her trainer after they said they couldn’t imagine her losing 15 more pounds.
"So, [Kanye said], 'we need to get another trainer then, because if I tell you that she needs to lose weight in between her toe[s], you are going to figure out a f*cking toe weight.'"
3. Kanye West also struggled with alcohol abuse during his marriage.
West has been somewhat open about struggling with alcohol abuse, particularly before his marriage.
But it seems his addiction entered his marriage too, as he revealed in his song “Hurricane” which is about his relationship breakdown.
"Genius gone clueless, it’s a whole lot to risk / Alcohol anonymous, who’s the busiest loser?”
West also talked about this issue in his “Thanksgiving Prayer” – a video he shared on Instagram in which he owns up to his shortcomings in his relationship with the “Skims” founder.
“I would drink to take the stress away and knock the edge off. Drinking affected my health and the health of people around, around me because I already had a hair-trigger temper and this just heightened it,” he said.
4. Kanye West controlled Kim Kardashian’s fashion during their marriage.
It’s well known that West played a huge role in making Kardashian the fashion icon she is today.
And, for the most part, that is something we can praise him for.
However, West’s controlling attitude towards Kardashian’s fashion choices would be, for many other people, a major red flag.
Early on in their relationship, the rapper appeared on Kardashian’s reality TV show to do some major clearing out of her wardrobe, effectively replacing her entire closet with new clothes.
In a 2018 interview, Kardashian revealed that the whole ordeal had brought her to tears.
“I always thought I had really good style—until I met my husband and he told me that I had the worst style,” Kardashian recalled.
“I probably had 250 pairs of shoes and when we were done cleaning it out, I had two pairs left and I cried.”
5. Kanye West said it affects him when Kim Kardashian is ‘too sexy.’
West pushing Kardashian to become a fashionista later backfired and by 2019 he was seeking a new way to control her image — by making her less sexy.
In a controversial “KUWTK” clip, West and Kardashian are seen arguing as Kardashian prepares to go to the Met Gala in a figure-hugging Mugler dress.
West announces that he has changed his stance on making his wife into a sex symbol and no longer wants her to wear revealing clothing.
"I didn't realise that that was affecting my soul and my spirit as someone that's married and loved, the father of what's about to be four kids," he explains.
"A corset is a form of underwear. It's hot. It's like, it's hot for who though?"
West doubles down even after Kardashian tells him that his comments are giving her anxiety.
"You are my wife, and it affects me when pictures are too sexy," he continues.
Kardashian then defends herself saying, "You built me up to be this sexy person and have confidence and all this stuff, and just because you're on your journey and you're on a transformation, doesn't mean that I'm in the same spot with you."
However, the issue goes unresolved after West storms out of the room in the middle of their spat.
6. Kanye West allegedly pushed Kim Kardashian away from one of her best friends, Larsa Pippen.
Fans of the famous family were shocked when Kardashian and her sisters unfollowed longtime friend Larsa Pippen in 2020.
While none of the Kardashian have ever addressed the reason behind their fallout, Pippen believes that West had something to do with it.
“I just feel like Kanye was in a place where he really didn’t trust anyone with Kim,” Pippen revealed in a 2021 interview.
She claimed that West had begun to bad-mouth her to his wife after Pippen tried to distance herself from the rapper.
Of course, Kardashian is capable of thinking for herself but it is somewhat concerning if her husband did orchestrate a falling out between her and her best friend.
7. Kanye West once lashed out at Kim Kardashian over a bandaid.
In a now-viral clip of “KUWTK,” Kardashian vented to her sister, Khloe, about a ridiculous argument with her husband over his demanding behavior.
Kardashian revealed that West had lashed out after she couldn’t find him a bandaid that he liked in their home.
"I said, 'did you look at the proper place, there's a bandaid here.' He didn't like that one," Kardashian began.
"So he wanted another one, so there was a bandaid there and I put it on him," she recalled, "He didn't like the color of the band aid."
She then found a Jesus bandaid in her children’s stash but the “Yeezy” founder didn’t like that one either.
"I've slaved around the world making clothes for you to make sure that you find the best outfit and you let me go out wearing a Jesus bandaid," Kardashian recalls her husband saying.
"He said I should've got a skin color bandaid. And I'm like, so I'm running around to find three f***ing different color bandaids when I have three kids to look after," she concludes.
8. Kanye West has a habit of revealing personal details about Kim Kardashian.
As we’ve seen in recent weeks, West has no qualms about exposing personal conversations with his ex.
Even during their marriage, West would occasionally turn to Twitter to expose details that probably should be kept offline.
The most infamous of these rants included a revelation that he and Kardashian had contemplated getting an abortion when the reality TV first found out she was expecting their eldest child, North.
“I almost killed my daughter,” he said during a controversial speech as part of his 2020 election campaign.
"Even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world, even when I didn't want to," West said. "She stood up, and she protected that child."
Even after all this, Kardashian still defended her then-husband and asked for fans to show him kindness during his mental health crises.
However, while we admire Kardashian’s attempts to keep their marriage together, all these difficult moments eventually took their toll and we hope she’s happier now that she and West are no longer together.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.