Khloé Kardashian Talks Fame, Forgiveness, and the One Boundary She Won’t Break

Khloé Kardashian has never been afraid to share her life with the world, but in a recent Ask Me Anything episode of Khloé in Wonder Land, she lets listeners in even deeper. Between jokes about mermaids and terrifying deep-sea creatures, Kardashian opens up about the loss that reshaped her twenties, how motherhood changed the way she moves through fame, and why forgiveness has become one of her strongest muscles. 

Kardashian talks candidly about co-parenting with Tristan Thompson and what it’s taken to finally feel solid in her self-worth in her 40s. And she’s definitely clear on what she’s not rushing: dating, drama, or anything that disrupts the peace she’s built at home.

Below are highlights from the conversation, adapted from the Khloé in Wonder Land podcast.

What is still on your bucket list?

“I think I have more things I don’t want to do as opposed to things that I want to do. In my experience, the older you get, well, for me, maybe this isn’t for normal people…but like the older I get and [now] that I have kids, I just want to protect myself at all costs and not do anything that could risk me not being here…like even a hot air balloon, I did that and I’m like, ‘how dare I?’ I would never do that now with kids. But now I’m so afraid…I would never do that now. Why am I such a pussy? Like what happened to me?”

Did you ever feel marginalized by the industry in your early days of fame?

“Yes…I just always felt like I didn’t fit in, and at the time I don’t think I did at all. But it wasn’t like I didn’t feel like a victim either, it was just sort of the way it was…you were able to say and do things back in 2008 that you just wouldn’t get away with now.”

When you became famous, did it make you more careful about getting into trouble or did you lean into the fun?

“When I was first coming up, there were no iPhones. There was BlackBerries, yes, but it was so much more fun and then being famous and you do get to do really cool things like in my younger days…It’s not the fame, I mean, yes, the fame can make it not as fun because more eyes are on you, but it’s really the social media that ruined everything because people don’t want to be drunk and just have fun in public because someone’s going to take a bad picture of them. They’re going to get slaughtered in all these magazines, like it’s just they took the fun out of people being human…I think we definitely leaned into the fun. And I miss those days so much…I feel sorry for so many 20 year olds now because they don’t get that freedom.”

Do you journal?

“I had a few journals that I journaled literally my life away and I loved it and everything was in these journals and I remember my ex-husband was going through it. He was having a tough time and he was incredibly paranoid. And [he] found these journals…and was reading them and just was convinced that I was like taking notes and sending them to the government or something crazy and he threw all of them into a fire in front of me and I remember sobbing, tears streaming down my face, and…I could remember me on my knees screaming…

…That was the last time I journaled. Because I just felt like, wow, that was taken away in a f*cking blink, and what was the point?”

At what point do you feel like you valued your own self-worth over other people’s opinions of you?

“I’ve always had a really hard relationship with myself and self-worth, and it goes up and down. I had good years and I had bad years. I had years that I was like, ‘I’m the f*cking shit’ and I had years that I’m like, ‘I’m a piece of sh*t…’

…And then I know I’m only 41, but I do feel like from the start of this decade, I’ve felt really good about where I am in my life, how I feel about myself, and I’m sure that can go up and down too, but I feel really solid in where I am currently. But I think going up and down is normal.”

Any new dating updates to share?

“No. It’s mortifying. But I feel really good here. I’m in a good place and it’s actually not that crazy when I think about it. I think all of you guys are crazy for pushing me as hard as you guys are. My son just turned 3, so this December will be 4 years that I haven’t dated or anything. That’s not that crazy. I see people all the time that are like, girl, 12 years of not dating, going strong, and I’m like, ‘You go, girl.’ Not saying that’s going to be me, but when I think about it, I have young kids. I have a good excuse to not bring a bunch of people around. Like I’m busy with my kids. I really don’t want to. My life is peaceful, less dramatic. I don’t really deal with a lot of drama unless it’s like my family, which will never be drama free. But like me personally, when I’m at home, I’m stress free. Like I’m not worried about a thing. Why would I add someone else to the equation right now that’s just going to stress me the f*ck out?”

What is the hardest thing you’ve had to overcome this year?

“I am freaked out because I don’t know, like that is the nicest f*cking thing, the realization of my life has been, I don’t even jinx myself. But I’ve been great…That’s a good realization.”

What do you think is the most pivotal moment that changed your life?

“I mean, I have a lot of pivotal moments that changed my life, but in different ways. But I would say probably the biggest moment would probably be my dad dying, and I think it was the most, like it obviously is the most traumatic I think for anyone, but then I was 19, my brother was 16, and for him and I, it was really traumatic…

…At the time, you don’t think anything positive is coming of this, but then after that you realize it taught us to be responsible and to get jobs and to stand on our own two feet. We were very reliant on my dad. And then when he died, we didn’t have that privilege of relying on him, and so it just really made us strong, good, responsible people. And then very, very appreciative for family, for our unity together, for the time we did have with our dad. So much came out of it once you’re able to get out of the grief and the sadness and you get to reflect.”

Kim recently mentioned on a podcast that Tristan comes over and tucks the kids in at night when he’s not in season. How are you able to heal and mend your heart enough to get to this place?

“Tristan and I, we have a good co-parenting relationship. Tristan, I think what I find so funny is that people are always like, ‘how do you let Tristan back in?’ And I’m like, well, Tristan’s not back in. He’s just the father of my kids, so he’s going to be around his kids and I’m really grateful that he is. I love that he has a great relationship with his kids. I love that he wants to be with his kids and they want to be with him. I think that’s a beautiful blessing. I’m never going to get in the way of that. I think it’s so important for that relationship to maintain and be as strong as possible and because we live close, it’s easy for him to come over and do those things, but it’s just about the kids…

…It definitely took time for us to get to that point. I have gone to a lot of therapy. I’ve done a lot of healing on my own…emotionally, I’m not invested in Tristan in that way, like in a romantic way, so he doesn’t affect me when he does come around and he’s just like one of my friends like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’…It’s so just chill, but I know a lot of it is because of the work I’ve done.”

Discuss forgiveness and how you’re able to move on from situations

“People are always asking me about how I forgive the way I do and I don’t just forgive and I say it, but don’t mean it. Like I genuinely forgive and I have to let it go. Doesn’t mean I forget. I mean, I remember everything that someone’s done to me, but, it serves me no purpose, being angry and holding onto something that long where it’s really affecting me and how I treat other people. You definitely have to process things. For sure you have to go through the motions. For sure you have every right to be angry and you’re going to have that time, that phase that you’re like, ‘F*ck you, I’m going to f*cking kill you…’ Like those are all normal feelings. Doesn’t mean you act on those.”

Did you love planning a wedding? Did you have any rules for yourself on your wedding day? 

“It was not something that really mattered to me, the wedding. I just wanted to get married. I could have gone to a courthouse, but the planning of any party, like I love to do, I love. Micromanaging and like the control of it all, but I love all the details. I think love is in the details. So I love that. My wedding, I didn’t really plan. I let my mom do it…When my wedding came around, my mom had 9 days to plan it. I got married and I was going to get married…we needed to have this wedding before the Laker season started. My mom had 9 days and she loved every second of it…

…Did I have rules? No, I definitely drank. I had so much fun. It was the best. The only rule that I did have, and someone gave me this advice and I loved it. Your wedding is incredible, magical, it’s great, but you’re essentially a host and you’re greeting all these people that are so happy for you and they’re some of them you don’t see that often, they’re extended family, and so everyone wants a chance to say hi to you and greet you, but then you’re never with your husband and you’re never enjoying. You’re not being present. Someone said to me, take your husband once everyone’s seated and go into the corner of the tent or the venue wherever you are and just watch the room for a minute and look about, look around and see everything…I think him and I took like 30 minutes together and we’re just, you know, goo goo ga ga, you’re just married, you’re like so mushy with one another. It was so great. And I never would have done that on my own if that wasn’t in the back of my head.”

To listen to Khloé Kardashian’s full Q&A, listen to Khloé in Wonder Land wherever you get your podcasts.

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