Inside Lamar Odom and Khloé Kardashian's 7-Year Relationship, from Their Whirlwind Engagement to 2 Divorce Filings

Khloé Kardashian filed for divorce from Lamar Odom twice, once in 2013 and again in 2016

NEED TO KNOW

• Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom married just 30 days after meeting at a 2009 Los Angeles party
• The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star supported Odom after his 2015 overdose
• Kardashian filed for divorce twice, and their split was ultimately finalized in 2016

Lamar Odom and Khloé Kardashian were married for seven years.

The former couple met at a 2009 party in Los Angeles and got engaged just a few weeks later in September 2009. Just nine days after Odom popped the question, the NBA player and reality star got married in a star-studded Beverly Hills wedding.

During an appearance in Odom’s Netflix documentary Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom, which premiered on March 31, Kardashian called the beginning of their relationship “the coolest, coolest time in my life.” The former Lakers star also credited the Kardashian family with helping him “kind of step into who I am a little bit more.”

In July 2013, Kardashian defended Odom after cheating rumors surfaced, but by December of that year, she'd filed for divorce. However, she called off the divorce proceedings in October 2015, when Odom was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel and rushed to a Las Vegas hospital after experiencing an overdose that left him in a coma for three days. Ultimately, the pair finalized their divorce in December 2016.

During a March 2025 episode of her Khloé in Wonder Land podcast, Kardashian said she “wouldn’t change” marrying Odom.

"It was one of the best experiences of my life and I loved that, but I don’t think — I’ll never say never — I don’t think I would ever do that again," she said about getting married quickly. "I hope not. Because you really don’t know the person."

Here’s everything to know about Lamar Odom and Khloé Kardashian’s relationship.

They dated for less than a month before getting engaged

Kardashian and Odom first met in August 2009 at a party for former NBA player Metta World Peace, born Ron Artest, in L.A.

"I didn't even know who she was when I met her," Odom said on The Wendy Williams Show in June 2017. "I went up and spoke to her, introduced myself. I fell in love. She's a beautiful person, inside and out."

Kardashian later revealed in a June 2024 episode of The Kardashians that she initially wouldn’t give Odom her number.

"The best thing Lamar did — well, not the best thing, he did a lot of good things — but when I wouldn't give him my number but then he found out that we had the same business manager," she said. "And then [he] was hounding Lester for my info. It was a turn on, it's sexy … you want a little aggressiveness."

The pair dated for a few weeks before getting engaged in September 2009. The proposal was featured on a 2009 episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. 

Kardashian and Odom married in September 2009

Nine days after their engagement, Kardashian and Odom tied the knot in a lavish Beverly Hills ceremony that was held at the home of music producer Irving Azoff. The nuptials were attended by 250 guests and included a 10-piece orchestra, a four-course dinner and a performance by Babyface.

Kardashian wore a white Vera Wang gown with a lavender sash for the wedding, while Odom donned a gray tuxedo with black lapels.

The reality star reflected on their quick nuptials in Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom and said she understood why people were skeptical of the marriage.

“I do like to consider myself pretty levelheaded. I really do,” she said. “But the cynicism of people judging and ‘Is this a real relationship or is it not?’ I totally understood. I mean, we were getting married in 30 days. So that is insane.”

Kardashian added, “Falling in love the way we fell in love, as quickly as we did, is so not my personality. But he’s so charismatic. He’s fun and silly. And then he also is a very vulnerable person. He’s very honest about his life and what has transpired in his life.”

They had matching tattoos and a reality show

A month after their wedding, the couple got matching tattoos of each other’s initials. Kardashian got a cursive "LO" on her right hand, while Odom got "KO" on both of his hands. 

“When we were at dinner, I just knew I wanted a tattoo for Lamar in the web of my hand,” Kardashian wrote on her blog at the time. “Once we got to the shop we decided on getting each other’s initials.”

The pair also debuted a reality show, Khloe & Lamar, in April 2011, and it ran for two seasons. In Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom, Kardashian said the show was Odom’s idea. 

“With my family show, I bounce around to different homes, and it’s not under a microscope. So I was a little concerned about a reality show that was gonna be in our home all the time,” she said. “But I also wanted to do what made him happy, and he was so excited about it.”

Kardashian filed for divorce from Odom in 2013

In July 2013, a series of online reports claimed that Odom had cheated on Kardashian. By December of that year, Kardashian filed for divorce from Odom.

In Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom, Odom and Kardashian opened up about their marital issues at that time, including his infidelity and substance abuse issues. Odom admitted that he became addicted to cocaine, going as far as freebasing the drug, altering it into crack for a stronger high.

"The drug buildup was getting worse and worse. And then there were many times Lamar would go for 12 hours or two days, and escape rehab, go on a drug bender and no one could find him," Kardashian said. "I remember needing to go to hotel rooms to clean up after him, so the housekeeping didn’t sell a story. I was such an enabler without knowing I was an enabler. But I just felt such a responsibility to cover this up, hold it together and protect him.”

Kardashian said that Odom overdosed "a few times" during their relationship.

"I had to pump his stomach," she said. "We had at-home detox centers. We did everything we could.”

During the documentary, the former couple also discussed Odom's infidelity. “I never knew for sure that he was sleeping with other people," Kardashian said. "Of course, I had suspicions, but I never had anything tangible."

Odom added, “I don’t know, like, when I think about it, like cheating on my wife. Like, how sick would your brain have to be if you know who you are?”

The former basketball player has admitted to cheating on Kardashian in the past. "I'd have these random women coming out. Some of them all came out at one time," he told TMZ Presents: Lamar Odom: Sex, Drugs & Kardashians in January 2023, adding that he'd have "full-blown relationships" while traveling for the NBA.

"Your wife is Khloé Kardashian. You buggin'," he continued. "I'm, like, laughing out of embarrassment right now. Like, how you thought you was going to get away with that one?"

Kardashian supported Odom after his drug overdose in 2015

Kardashian called off their divorce and rushed to Odom's side in October 2015 after the basketball player experienced a near-fatal drug overdose. Odom was found unconscious in a brothel and rushed to a Las Vegas hospital, where he remained in a coma for three days.

While the pair hadn’t reconciled, Kardashian explained in Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom why she chose to remain married to Odom at the time.

“This is my husband. Through sickness and health, I have to be there for him. I have to show up for him,” she said. “And I was gonna do everything I could to make sure that he had the best fighting chance. And I just trusted myself more than I trusted anyone in his circle.”

Odom told PEOPLE in May 2019 that he was "surprised" to find Kardashian by his side when he woke up from his coma.

“I remember waking up and her showing me pictures of my mother,” he said. “I was surprised by how quick she was to show her devotion to me.”

Afterwards, Odom remained in the hospital for four months, during which he suffered from 12 strokes, six heart attacks and months of rehabilitation.

“I never left the hospital," Kardashian said in the documentary. "I was there for about four months with him every single day. We were determined to get him walking and moving again.”

They finalized their divorce in 2016

In Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom, Kardashian said that after Odom was released from the hospital, she rented him a house. However, after discovering he had relapsed again, she cut off all contact.

“Once you know the smell of crack, it’s the most identifiable, disgusting smell,” she said. “And there’s nothing you can confuse it with. And I remember stopping by the house, and I smelled crack … He was in his bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, smoking crack. And I just punched him in his face."

She continued, “He was better than I knew. He was playing me so I can continue this lifestyle for him.”

Kardashian filed for divorce from Odom for a second time in May 2016. Their divorce was finalized seven months later in December of that year.

Kardashian and Odom reunited for the first time in 2024

Kardashian and Odom reunited in the premiere of The Kardashians season 6, which was filmed in 2024 and premiered in February 2025. It was the first time the pair had seen each other since their divorce.

The reality star initiated the meeting to return some of Odom’s belongings and felt it was time to “be done with that chapter.” However, she shared she had “no feelings” about the situation and wished she could “not have a conversation” with him during the exchange.

During a confessional in the episode, Kardashian also opened up about the happier times in their relationship, calling Odom the “love of my life.”

"I don’t know if I could even put into words what I felt for Lamar,” she said. “It felt like the most special, magical time of my life — the most purest love I’ve ever had. And although there was so much darkness in that marriage, there was the brightest of the bright times. And I love it and I cherish it.”

In the episode, Odom also reflected on the lasting impact of their relationship. “I love you for trying your hardest with me. That love — I don't think it'll ever go away. I know it won't,” he said.

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