Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson are expecting a second child together — this one by surrogate — and, like everything for this sometimes-couple, the pregnancy comes amid just a hint of scandal.
While the baby news itself is, of course, a happy update and something viewers of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and Hulu’s “The Kardashians” know the two had been thinking about for some time, the timing of the surrogate’s conception places this major decision just before his paternity scandal blew up … and while they were still very much together.
Let’s break down what we know so far.
Khloe and Tristan were going strong in 2018, but when Thompson was accused of cheating while Kardashian was pregnant with True, the cracks started to show. They welcomed their first child together in April of that year and appeared to be trying to move past that first scandal until another one broke in February 2019. At the time, Thompson was accused of being a little too flirty with Kylie Jenner’s then-best friend, Jordyn Woods, leading to him and Khloe splitting.
As time went on — and after the two went into quarantine together during Covid lockdown — they were seen in 2021 “KUWTK” talking about having another baby together and working with a surrogacy agent. When the reality show family moved over to “The Kardashians,” Khloe said they weren’t together as a couple near the start of filming — but he was trying to win her back and they were going to couples therapy.
In a 2022 episode of the Hulu series, Khloe confirmed the two had a secret reconciliation around the time of Kourtney Kardashian’s engagement, which would have been October 2021. “We’re good. We’re actually in a really good place. We just got back together,” she revealed at the time. “He’s been going to therapy a lot. There’s just been a lot of effort on his part.”
In one of the final episodes of the season, filmed in late November and early December, the two were planning on moving into Khloe’s new home together. She also said he had been bringing up marriage a lot lately, while she told her mom, “I believe people should have multiple chances in life, I do.” But then the scandal hit.
In December 2021, news broke that Maralee Nichols was pregnant and the kid was most likely Tristan’s. At the time, he admitted to having sex with her in court documents, while questioning whether he was the child’s father. Khloe said she found out about the incident when everyone else did — after a story with those legal docs were posted in the Daily Mail. She was livid that he had hid everything from her, while having lawyers fight Nichols in court on the down low. He later confirmed her son Theo was his after the child’s birth, in January 2022.
According to Khloe’s rep, the baby was conceived in November 2021, meaning the scandal hadn’t happened yet — and they were very much together when they made the decision to have another child. “Khloé is incredibly grateful to the extraordinary surrogate for such a beautiful blessing,” her rep added, “We’d like to ask for kindness and privacy so that Khloé can focus on her family.”
Near the end of “The Kardashians” Season 1 finale, Khloe was seen packing up Tristan’s clothes and putting them into boxes … after just moving them into their new home.
“This house was supposed to be mine and Tristan and True’s home that we were supposed to have our family in. It’s really disappointing and it’s heartbreaking,” she said in a confessional. “I wanted to believe that Tristan could change, I wanted to trust him and believe that True and I were worth him changing for. But that’s just life, things don’t always go the way that we hope and plan.”
Since filming wrapped on the show’s first season, the two have not reconciled again — and, according to a PEOPLE source, are only speaking to each other as it pertains to “co-parenting matters.”
The baby will be the second for the couple and for Khloe. Thompson is also a father to sons Theo, 7 months, and Prince, 5, who he shares with Jordan Craig.
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