Last week’s episode of The Kardashians ended with Kourtney Kardashian and Tristan Thompson sitting down for a candid chat about his treatment of Khloé over the years.
As I’m sure you’re well aware, Tristan has betrayed Khloé multiple times since they first started dating in 2016 — most recently being in 2021, when news broke that he’d secretly fathered a baby with another woman while he and Khloé were engaged and preparing to welcome their second child via surrogate.
Tristan didn’t initially tell Khloé about his secret baby, leaving her to find out “with the rest of the world” when legal documents filed by the child’s mother, Maralee Nichols, leaked online. As a result, Khloé was left traumatized and utterly humiliated.
But in spite of Tristan’s actions, this season of The Kardashians has seen some of Khloé’s closest friends and family members repeatedly encouraging her to give him another chance in order to “save” their family.
And so, last week, Tristan embarked on a so-called apology tour to Khloé’s sisters Kylie and Kourtney, during which he attempted to convince them that he’s changed and is worthy of rekindling things with Khloé.
While Kylie appeared to take Tristan’s “apology” on board pretty quickly, Kourtney didn’t seem too convinced by his words at all, and grilled him on the extent of his actions over the years.
For example, when Tristan said he feels “disgusted the next day” whenever he cheats, Kourtney hit back with, “So then, why do you do it again?” And when he later referred to his years of betrayal of Khloé as “a mistake,” Kourtney quickly interjected to remind him that he has messed up “multiple” times.
Tristan ultimately claimed that his poor treatment of Khloé stems from the fact that he was never taught “how to love” by his family, namely after having seen his dad repeatedly cheat on his mom throughout his childhood. “The most important person in my life, even though they’re being treated terribly, is always happy. So I never understood pain and suffering,” he said.
Nevertheless, Kourtney told him, “I don’t think you deserve Khloé, or the actions that you’ve done have been something that she’s deserved.”
Their conversation ended with a “to be continued” teaser, and this week, we see the full extent of Kourtney and Tristan’s chat.
Things begin on a pretty explosive note, with Kourtney hinting that Tristan is a “sociopath” and “narcissist.”
“I see these TikTok videos and there’s these people and they’re like, ‘I am a sociopath, narcissist, I have no empathy, I have no feelings.’ Do you think there’s any part of you that relates to that?” she asks him.
Tristan quickly denies this, before telling Kourtney that she’s well within her rights to feel that way about him given his treatment of Khloé. “No... So, you should definitely feel the way you feel. 100%. Because if it was my sister, I’d feel the same way,” he says.
“I think for me, you know, I want Khloé to be happy, and whatever that may be, I’m fully supportive of that,” he adds.
To this, Kourtney replies, “What is your goal? Like, is your goal to be together? And if so, what are you doing to get there? Not that I know that you’ll get there or think you should get there.”
Tristan pauses, before telling Kourtney that he’d love to spend the rest of his life with Khloé.
“First of all, would I love to be with your sister and spend the rest of my life with her? Of course. My goal is to, you know, have my family back as a whole unit,” he says.
“Even though I never grew up with a happy household, I have always wanted it,” he adds. “But I’ve done things that put myself in a position out of that.”
Kourtney then tells him that because his actions “don’t match” his words, it’s hard to believe what he’s saying. He replies, “All I can do at the end of the day... The controllable is being the best dad I can be, paying it forward to those that are looking up to me, and just setting a good example.”
Kourtney reminds Tristan that kids “watch our actions, not our words,” to which he admits that he’s prepared to tell his and Khloé’s eldest daughter, 5-year-old True, that he “failed” her.
“I wanted to be a good example for them. And so, I always tell Khloé, when it comes to True and having that conversation, it’s on me to have that conversation... ‘Daddy failed you and mommy. Mommy didn’t fail you, Tutu,’” he says.
Kourtney then goes on to discuss her family’s habit of remaining super friendly with men who have treated them poorly — something that viewers have criticized multiple times, especially over the course of this season.
Kourtney explains that in her family, keeping “everyone happy” has always “held a higher priority” over “setting a boundary or having someone’s back.” She also says that having exes attend family gatherings has always been the norm for the KarJenners — which, interestingly, was a recurring issue back on Keeping Up With The Kardashians when it came to having her ex, Scott Disick, involved at their events.
Going on to address her past with Scott directly in this episode, Kourtney acknowledges that she too has “been a part” of her family’s pattern of remaining a little too friendly with their exes in spite of how badly they’ve been treated. Speaking of her family’s habit of placing their exes on a pedestal, Kourtney says, “Not that I haven’t done it myself. I’ve been a part of this whole thing.”
Kourtney and Scott — who share three kids, Mason, Penelope, and Reign — dated on and off for almost a decade before splitting for good in 2015, and their relationship was repeatedly blighted by his alleged infidelity and alcohol abuse.
But despite being left hurt by Scott’s actions on numerous occasions throughout their relationship, Kourt remained super close with him for years — as did her family members. And as a result, he was repeatedly forgiven and treated as a member of the group.
While Kourtney was eventually able to put boundaries in place within her and Scott’s relationship, he’s still treated as a member of the KarJenner clan by all of the family to this day — to the point where Kendall Jenner felt the need to express her concern for his feelings on the very night Kourtney announced her engagement to her now-husband, Travis Barker.
After acknowledging her past with Scott in this episode of The Kardashians, Kourtney directly calls out her family’s lack of support when it comes to healing from toxic relationships.
Seemingly making a jab at Kim and Kris for repeatedly gushing over Tristan, Kourt says that her family members are great at making sure Khloé “looks her best” on a “superficial” level, but aren’t able to support her when it comes to setting “boundaries.”
“When I think about it in a superficial way, we could make sure Khloé looks her best, she’s dressed up, she feels good, she’s in glam... But really making sure the person feels [supported], stood up for, sets the boundaries they need to set, and is supported in that — ‘cause in this family, it’s not,” she says.
Later on, in a confessional, Kourtney elaborates on this, saying: “In our family, everyone can tend to normalize these behaviors of some of the men in our lives, and I don’t want to show my daughter that that’s OK. I think having forgiveness and giving grace is right, but also having really clear boundaries, I think is really important.”
“It’s lucky for you guys. And it is great for the kids,” she adds, before Tristan cuts her off and says, “I know what you’re saying. I think, when it comes to Khloé and True, and I think, I’m a firm believer, if you make the mistake, you have to be accountable on it, and stand two feet. You do the crime, you gotta own it.”
“I’m not proud of the person I used to be. Am I proud of who I’m becoming? Of course. But in order for that to happen, I had to fall to rock bottom,” he says. “I need to grow so I can be there for my kids.”
In a confessional, Kourtney says that while she’s “not here to hold a grudge” against Tristan, she finds it “concerning” that his words repeatedly fail to match his actions.
“I’m not here to hold a grudge. I think that was the point in having the conversation. I do believe that people can grow. It was interesting to me the work that he’s doing and the path that he’s on, because when your words don’t match your actions, it’s concerning. Talk is cheap,” she says.
At the end of their chat, Tristan thanks Kourtney for taking the time to hear him out. But once again, Kourt doesn’t seem too convinced by anything he’s said.
“Hopefully we spend more time together, [so] you can see who I actually am. And hopefully, the words follow the actions, you’ll see it,” he tells her, to which she raises her eyebrows and replies, “Well, let’s see. Anything for my Khloé.”
