Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have been at the center of public attention after the two were spotted out at dinner last week.
Last Thursday, the exes were pictured outside Nobu in Malibu, with both dressed in head-turning getups.
Kanye and Kim out to dinner at Nobu in Malibu tonight (9.30.21)
The KKW Beauty mogul flaunted what many have called a “Kanye-inspired” fit, which saw her dressed in a purple catsuit under a floor-length maroon leather coat.
Meanwhile, the 44-year-old rapper surprised fans by making a rare maskless appearance alongside his estranged wife.
Kim and Kanye were joined by their longtime friends Tracy Romulus — who is also the CMO of Kim’s clothing brand SKIMS — and her husband Ray Romulus. Both were seen getting into a car with the former couple afterward.
Weeks prior, reports surfaced claiming that Kim and Kanye have been “working on rebuilding the foundation of their relationship,” per sources quoted by TMZ.
While the sources maintained that the pair weren’t back together, they reportedly said that Kim and Kanye’s main focus was to “keep a healthy and sturdy foundation of love and support” for their four children, North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm.
After the recent pictures of the former couple surfaced, fans began to speculate that they were perhaps rekindling their romance.
“IS KIMYE ACTUALLY BACK?” one fan tweeted.
@KanyeMedia_ IS KIMYE ACTUALLY BACK?
“Kim & Kanye will get back together. You heard it here first,” another speculated.
Kim & Kanye will get back together. You heard it here first.
However, on Friday, an insider reportedly told Us Weekly that while Kanye is “still styling” Kim, the pair definitely aren’t back together and instead are simply committed to coparenting their children.
“They have a more of a friendship and working relationship as they coparent,” the source said. “They’re not back together.”
This isn’t the first time that Kim and Kanye have been pictured together amid reports around their divorce and a possible reconciliation.
In recent months, Kim’s appearances at each of Kanye’s three Donda album listening parties have raised eyebrows — especially since the debut event marked the first time that the pair had been pictured in the same place since she filed for divorce in February, citing “irreconcilable differences” after seven years of marriage.
The first event, which took place in July, saw Kanye reportedly weeping on stage while singing about “losing” his family during a song titled "Love Unconditionally.” Many assumed the lyrics were in reference to Kim and their children, who sat in the audience.
A month later, at his second event, Kanye took to the stage with more questionable lyrics. He rapped: “Time and space is a luxury / But you came here to show that you're still in love with me” — which many understood as him suggesting that Kim still had feelings for him.
The final and most surprising Donda event, which took place in August, saw Kim sharing the stage with Kanye while dressed in a Balenciaga couture wedding dress and face-concealing veil. According to TMZ, Kim was “happy to do it for Kanye and the event, which was so important to him.”
Is this Kim Kardashian? #DONDA
However, when Donda was released days later, fans quickly noticed that some of Kanye’s songs seemed to reference trust issues and intense arguments, appearing to hint at his discontent during the marriage.
Kanye’s lyrics on Donda marked the first time that he had publicly addressed his divorce and the demise of his relationship — something that Kim spoke about in detail in the final season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
In an emotional conversation with her sisters Kourtney, Kendall, and Kylie, Kim sobbed while opening up about how unhappy she'd been for years.
“I honestly can’t do this anymore,” she cried. “I’m still in this place where I’ve been stuck for years. ... I feel like a fucking failure that it’s [my] third fucking marriage. I feel like a fucking loser. But I can’t even think about that. I want to be happy.”
While Kim went on to acknowledge that Kanye was "an amazing dad," she later opened up to her mom Kris Jenner about how she felt as though she didn’t have a partner to “share life with.”
“I used to think that [living apart] was when we were getting along the best, but to me that’s sad and that’s not what I want,” Kim said. “It’s the little things that I don’t have. I have all the big things. I have [everything] extravagant you could possibly imagine. And no one will ever do it like that [again]. I’m grateful for those experiences, but I think I’m ready for the smaller experiences that I think will mean a lot.”
Kim later shared that despite feeling “numb and tired” from having “emotional breakdowns,” she knew she would one day be happy.
“I didn’t come this far to come this far and not be happy,” she said.
Moreover, during the show’s reunion special later that month, Kim said no one person was at fault for the demise of the relationship.
“It was not, like, one specific thing that happened on either part,” Kim said. “I think it was just a general difference of opinions on a few things that led to this decision and in no way would I want someone to think I didn’t give it my all or I didn’t try.”