Kim Kardashian is opening up about co-parenting with Kanye West.
In her first interview since her divorce was finalized last month, the Skims founder broke down in tears while discussing the difficulties of raising her four children with her ex-husband.
“It’s hard. Co-parenting, it’s really fu**ing hard,” Kim admitted during an emotional interview with Angie Martinez on her “IRL” podcast.
She reflected on her relationship with 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 as long as they can have that,” she said. “That’s what I would want for them.”
However, Kim said she won’t let her troubled relationship with Ye affect the way her children feel about their dad.
“I could be going through something, but if we’re riding to school and they want to listen to their dad’s music, no matter what we’re going through, what is happening in the world, I have to have that smile on my face and blast his music and sing along with my kids and act like nothing’s wrong,” she explained. “As soon as I drop them off, I can have a good cry.”
She said that she tries to protect their children as much as possible from media coverage and limits their access to television and social media.
“If they don’t know the things that are being said or what’s happening in the world, why would I ever bring that energy to them?” she continued. “That’s really heavy, heavy grown-up sh*t that they’re not ready to deal with.”
But when the time comes, she’ll happily answer any questions her children may have. “When they are [ready], we’ll have those conversations,” she said. “And I’ll be so prepared. But until then, I’ll do anything to like keep their life as normal as possible.”
Kim has also been careful not to condemn Ye publicly. “One day my kids will thank me for sitting here and not bashing their dad when I could,” she said. “They’ll thank me and I’ll privately answer anything that they want to know. But it’s not my place anymore to really jump in.”
During the interview, Kim also addressed the controversy surrounding Balenciaga, whose holiday campaign featured kids holding teddy bears dressed in bondage.
“With the Balenciaga thing… everyone was like, ‘Why aren’t you speaking out? Why aren’t you speaking out?’ And I’m like, ‘Wait. I’m not in this campaign,’” Kardashian told Martinez. “And then as soon as I saw what everyone was seeing on the internet and the reality of the situation, I completely spoke out and gave my thoughts.”
But she was still subjected to scrutiny. “They’re mad if I don’t speak out. They’re mad if I do speak out, and if I don’t cancel.”
