Khloé Kardashian Said That People Finding Out About Her Second Child With Tristan Thompson Was Her “Biggest Fear” Because She Was So “Ashamed”

Khloé has opened up about how Tristan Thompson’s paternity scandal impacted her ability to bond with her unborn child, and said that she spent her surrogate’s pregnancy “in denial" that it was happening.

By now, it is pretty well known that Khloé Kardashian’s son, Tatum, was born into less-than-ideal circumstances back in 2022.

If you need reminding, Khloé shares Tatum — as well as her 6-year-old daughter True — with her ex, Tristan Thompson

Khloe and Tristan first started dating in 2016, but their relationship was constantly dogged with cheating rumors. In fact, Khloé first found out that he had been unfaithful just days before she gave birth to True back in 2018.

What followed was years of an on-again, off-again relationship that saw Tristan get caught up in several more cheating scandals. Despite this, Khloé agreed to have another child with Tristan via surrogacy in 2021. 

But just days after the embryo was implanted in the surrogate, Khloé — and the world — found out that Tristan had secretly fathered a son with another woman and had been keeping it from Khloé for months. 

Not only did Tristan keep personal trainer Maralee Nichols’s entire pregnancy hidden from Khloé, but he was also secretly battling a related court case over his paternity and child support issues while she was none the wiser.

In fact, Khloé later revealed that Tristan was actively convincing her to go ahead with their surrogacy plans amid his secret legal woes — with her family later admitting that it seemed as though Tristan was racing against the clock in a bid to “trap” Khloé before he was found out. 

Khloé and Tristan’s son was born in July 2021, just months after his son with Maralee — Theo — was born, and Khloé has always been incredibly open about how challenging the entire situation was for her.

Khloe Kardashian on The Kardashians

And Khloé opened up some more during a recent appearance on her OB-GYN Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi’s SHE MD podcast with Mary Alice Haney.

Khloé Kardashian

While Khloé did tell her close friends and family about the surrogacy when Tristan’s infidelity was exposed in December 2022, nobody else knew that she was expecting a second child with Tristan until it was reported by the press shortly before Tatum’s birth — and the public’s reaction “devastated” Khloé.

“No one found out about my pregnancy with Tatum until a couple of weeks before [he was born], and it devastated me because that’s when all the judgment and the knives were thrown at me,” she said. “My biggest fear was people finding out because I just couldn’t face it, let alone hear the noise.”

“I became very much a recluse. I didn’t even decorate the baby's room because I didn’t want people in my home knowing,” Khloé went on. "I also film a TV show, like, nobody knew. I couldn’t admit this to anybody because I was so ashamed, just thinking I knew better. [I was] taught better.”

Ultimately, Khloé was so detached from the pregnancy that when her doctor called her to tell her that her son was being born a little earlier than expected, she struggled to cope.

Khloe Kardashian in a hospital bed holding her newborn baby, both are relaxed and content

While Khloé previously revealed that she didn’t speak to Tristan for “six months” after his paternity scandal was exposed, they now have a healthy coparenting relationship, and she praised the way that he is with their children.

“[He] is an incredible father,” she said on the podcast. “He did make mistakes, but he’s the nicest guy, and we get along so well now. We’re not meant to be together, but he was meant to be the father of these kids, and we do get along so well, and I’m really grateful for that.”

“I’ve seen some other fathers that are not great fathers,” Khloé went on. “And I am very grateful that I have one that wants to be in their lives, that’s active every single day even though he doesn’t live here full time — he works out of state — so I am very lucky for that, and I just want to move forward with our relationship as coparents.”

Meanwhile, it is not thought that Tristan has ever met his 2-year-old son, Theo, with Maralee. He also has a 7-year-old son, Prince, with his ex, Jordan Craig. Last year, Jordan's sister publicly accused Tristan of not spending time with Prince.

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