Lamar Odom Is ‘Afraid’ to Reconnect With Khloe Kardashian After Divorce: Inside Their Split

Lamar Odom has been open about his admiration for ex-wife Khloé Kardashian. He spoke about their relationship while competing on season 3 of Celebrity Big Brother,, while he’s also shared insight into their split in his January 2023 special, Lamar Odom: Sex, Drugs & Kardashians. So why did Khloé and Lamar split?

Keep reading for details about their divorce, cheating allegations, his near-fatal overdose and more. 

What Happened During Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom’s Marriage?

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum and former NBA player got married in September 2009, just one month after they met. They showed parts of their relationship on the Kardashian-Jenner’s reality show and even starred in their own spinoff, Khloé & Lamar, which ran for two seasons in 2011 and 2012.

The California native has since said that she “never wanted” to do the show with her ex. “He sold it to E!, and I let it happen because I wanted him to be happy. I was the one who canceled it. It was way too much,” she previously told THR. 

While this appeared to be a point of contention in their marriage, the cracks in their relationship didn’t publicly show until Lamar was arrested in 2013 for driving under the influence. The New York native pleaded no contest and was given three years of probation. He entered rehab shortly after the incident but checked out one day later. 

Did Lamar Odom Cheat on Khloe Kardashian?

During their marriage, the couple also weathered multiple cheating rumors involving Lamar, allegations that Khloé and the athlete have since confirmed.

“Lamar was so great at making me feel like I was the only one and I’m this princess. I never speculated cheating … so I didn’t know about cheating … until before the DUI,” the Good American founder said during an interview with Howard Stern in 2016. “It is humiliating on any level, but I found out he was cheating on me the majority of our marriage, I just didn’t know.”

The former Los Angeles Laker reflected on his infidelity as one of his biggest regrets. “I would probably say it was the first time I decided to cheat on Khloé,” Lamar said on The Morning Hustle in February 2021. “I would rewind that back and take those things back and never let that happen.”

When Did Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom Split?

In December 2013, Khloé filed for divorce from Lamar. However, their proceedings were put on hold when the athlete was found unresponsive at a brothel in Nevada following a near-fatal overdose in 2015. Lamar has credited Khloé with helping him recover, calling her his “angel.”

“When I woke up out of the coma, my memory was terrible and I couldn’t walk or talk,” he previously told Buzzfeed News. “Just her spirit, always being there, her bringing pictures of my mother, my grandmother, just to help me bring my memory back.”

Khloé has seemingly moved on from her ex-husband for good. She shares her daughter, True Thompson, with ex-boyfriend Tristan Thompson, whom she dated on-and-off from 2016 to 2021. 

What Has Lamar Odom Said About His Marriage to Khloe Kardashian?

As for Lamar, he was previously engaged to Sabrina Parr, but they called it quits in 2020. He raised eyebrows on Big Brother, which premiered in February 2022, when he openly gushed about Khloé.

“I miss her so much. I wish I could take that time back,” he said on the reality show, calling her his “one and only.”

More recently, Lamar spoke about their marriage during Lamar Odom: Sex, Drugs & Kardashians, which premiered on January 2, 2023.

He admitted to being hesitant when asked if he wants to get back together with Khloé. “I would love to just take Khloé out to dinner,” Lamar answered. “I’m too shy and I’m a Scorpio and I hate being told no or being denied. I’m afraid.”

The retired athlete also reflected on his many cheating scandals during their marriage. “It seemed like they all came out at one time,” he said of the media coverage about his infidelity. “I’m having full-blown relationships on the road. My wife is Khloé Kardashian, I’m bugging.”

“I’m laughing out of embarrassment right now — how [did I think I] was going to get out of that one?” he continued. “Like, what could I actually tell Khloé to leave her for a couple of hours to even, like, leave to go do drugs with some random woman?”

Lamar then noted that he was heavily using drugs at the time of the affairs. “[One] woman actually gets into my phone and actually calls Khloé and goes, ‘You gotta come get him. He’s f—king going crazy. He’s gonna kill himself,’” he revealed. “They took me to go get help that night.”

Despite not being the best husband to the reality star, Lamar praised Khloé as a “good wife” when it came to his drug problems. “She wasn’t dismissive or [saying], ‘Get away from me.’ … She was protective and wanted to protect me even more. She [stood by me],” he shared. “Behind the scenes, I put her through some s—t. Like s—t that y’all don’t know. … The stories that y’all don’t know is, like, really crazy.”

Lamar also shared his feelings about how Tristan’s cheating impacted Khloé. “When she gets hurt, of course that hurts me,” the father of three stated. “I think what hurts me more is that it’s not my place to protect her. I can only protect her if she says, ‘Lamar, I need your help with this.’”