Khloé Kardashian Felt ‘Relief’ When Tristan Thompson Moved to Cleveland After Always Being ‘on Guard’ Against False Hope
When Tristan Thompson announced his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Khloé Kardashian felt relieved.During the season 5 premiere of The Kardashians on May 23, Khloé met with her ex as he packed for his move back to Cleveland, Ohio. Speaking to the cameras, she likened the NBA player to a “bird leaving the nest” and humorously wished he wouldn’t return to Los Angeles “anytime soon.”
Reflecting on the past few years, the Good American founder, 39, shared, “The past couple of years have been very heavy for me, maybe even the past decade. I haven’t had much time to heal.”
With Tristan, 33, away, Khloé looked forward to “taking time for me.”
“I’m not doing anything special or different,” she said. “I just want to be more present and put my energy into things that make me happy.”
As the exes walked into their daughter True’s room, Tristan joked about connecting their houses with a tunnel. Khloé, unimpressed, rolled her eyes and told the cameras, “Come on, you know where I stand.”
“Sometimes I hate how much I have to think and be on guard to not do anything that might ever give a glimmer that there’s hope,” she said to producers. “They just don’t leave even when you ask them to. They just keep staying!”
Khloé and Tristan started dating in 2016 and had an on-and-off relationship. He cheated on her multiple times, including just days before their daughter True was born and again with Jordyn Woods in 2019 while he and Khloé were still together.
Years later, they tried to reconcile. However, in December 2021, it was revealed that Tristan had fathered a child with Maralee Nichols while he and Khloé were expecting their second child via surrogate. Khloé ended their relationship months before their son Tatum’s birth in August 2022 and has since made it clear that she has no intention of reconciling
“These boundaries are so important with Tristan because we’ve done this over and over already,” she said during a June 2023 episode of the Hulu show. “I’ve gotten back with him after a cheating scandal so I don’t know if Tristan thinks, ‘Oh wow, OK, let’s just wait it out and eventually she’ll get back with me.’”
“I understand why he would think that, so it’s my job to set boundaries that show otherwise,” she continued. “I keep it very short and sweet and make sure he knows it’s always about the kids because it’s so easy to fall back into old habits. I can’t let those old habits return to my life. It’s just not what I want.”
When Khloé asked Tristan how he felt about his move, he admitted that it felt “bittersweet” as he would have to leave his younger brother Amari behind. (Khloé is helping Tristan care for Amari, now that Tristan is Amari’s legal guardian, following their mom Andrea’s death from a heart attack in January 2023.)
As they discussed the transitions, Khloé reflected on when Tristan temporarily moved in with her during his home renovation last season.
“The move-in and all of these changes were still just so overwhelming for me,” she told cameras. “Now that he’s going to Cleveland, I can imagine I’ll just feel a relief. I don’t care who it is, I need space.”
