Kim Kardashian admits to inventing travel stories to explain Kanye West's absences
In a new biography, the SKIMS founder details how she manages joint custody and communicates with her ex-husband through his wife.
By Kaito Shevchenko ·
Kim Kardashian told readers that she invents travel stories to explain why her ex-husband, Kanye West, is not around. In Citizen Kim, a biography released on October 27, she explained that she tells their four children their father is traveling. This tactic allows her to maintain a positive image of West for North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm.
Kardashian described the arrangement as difficult. "It is challenging coparenting with someone who comes by every few months," she wrote in the book. She said she worries about West throughout the day and often sends messages through his wife, Bianca Censori, or his manager. "I’ll communicate through his wife," she noted. The couple continues to invite West over, which recently allowed for a shared Christmas celebration that included Censori.
The book provides a timeline of their relationship. Kardashian and West began dating in 2012 and married in Florence, Italy, in May 2014. They shared the cover of Vogue in April 2014, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. By July 2020, Kardashian was publicly discussing West's bipolar disorder. She asked the public for compassion after his presidential campaign appearance and social media activity. She filed for divorce in February 2021.
The couple was declared legally single in March 2022. They reached a settlement in November 2022 that agreed to joint custody of their four children. In an interview on Call Her Daddy in October 2025, Kardashian linked the breakup to instability during West's episodes. She cited financial uncertainty and his attacks on family members as reasons she felt she needed to leave to parent more effectively.
West has acknowledged a bipolar I diagnosis. In a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal in January 2026, he described a four-month manic episode in early 2025. He linked specific behaviors to his illness while admitting it did not excuse his actions.
Citizen Kim was written by Jonathan Van Meter, a contributing editor at Vogue and New York. Van Meter founded Vibe as editor-in-chief. According to Penguin Random House, the 352-page book draws on hundreds of hours of interviews with Kardashian and conversations with dozens of associates. The book traces her rise through reality television, fashion, and business, alongside her advocacy for criminal justice reform.
Source: KBFB
