The Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Relationship Timeline

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West may be the most famous couple on the planet between his success the rapper has found with the empire he’s created around him combined with Kardashian’s popularity as a reality TV star and converting that into becoming an equally successful businesswoman. From the couple’s first encounter in 2004 to becoming a dysfunctional power couple raising four kids, the Kimye relationship is like something out of a fairy tale or a storybook. Most of the time.

MORE: Kim Kardashian Admits She Let Go Of Her Independence When She Married Kanye

Granted, West and Kardashian have been through a lot in their many years together, their equally over-the-top lifestyles sometimes clashing in a whirlwind of cancelled tours and rumors of cheating. Yes, sometimes it might be hard keeping up with the growing Kardashian West clan, especially considering Kanye’s characteristically eccentric behavior.

MORE: Kardashians Fear Krazy Kanye Will Spill Family Secrets As Kim ‘Longs To Be Single’

RadarOnline.com Online offers you the most memorable Kimye moments over the years.

According to West while talking to Kris Jenner on her talk show, he first met Kardashian in 2004 when she was still married to music producer Damon Thomas and was working as Brandy’s assistant on a music video shoot. This would have been four years before Keeping up with the Kardashians would skyrocket Kardashian to global fame. At the time, West was dating model Alexis Phifer.

In 2008, West shot a pilot for a planned “hip-hop puppet show” called Alligator Boots with fellow rapper  Rhymefest, which Comedy Central cancelled before it aired. Kardashian appeared in the pilot, dressed in similar bikini-clad Princess Leia outfit that would turn Carrie Fisher into a sex symbol when she wore it in the Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi 25 years earlier. West dressed up as a Star Wars stormtrooper for the sketch.

As luck would have it, Kardashian and West would be seated next to each other for a fashion show during New York Fashion week while she was still dating New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush. Years later, RadarOnline.com reported that insiders claimed that Kardashian had already been toying with getting together with West. This may have even led to some of her short-term breakups with Bush. Later, West would admit on Kris Jenner’s short-lived talk show Kris that this was when he started to have feelings for her daughter. Apparently, West even drew himself into the Kardashians’ Christmas card and shared it with Kim.

West and Kardashian were still keeping things platonic, although West may already have had other intentions when he added a rap to Keri Hilson’s single “Knock You Down.” Realizing Kardashian was still dating Bush, West rapped, “You were always the cheerleader of my dreams/Seem to only date the head of football teams/And I was the class clown that always kept you laughing/We were never meant to be, baby we just happened. You should leave your boyfriend now.” Sounds pretty blatant, doesn’t it?

A few months after that eventful meeting, Kardashian would marry Kris Humphries. West responded with the track “Cold” aka “Theraflu,” which included the line, "And I'll admit, I fell in love with Kim 'round the same time she had fell in love wit' him. Well, that's cool, baby girl, do ya thing." Seems pretty evident that Kanye wanted more than a friendship, but Kardashian responded diplomatically on The Today Show, saying, "Kanye and I have been friends for years, and you never know what the future holds or where my life will take me. I like the song."

Kim’s sister Khloé Kardashian finally addressed the potential lovebirds on Ellen after Ellen DeGeneres suggested they looked “cute together.” Soon after this, Kardashian and West were spotted stepping out as an official couple, and the road to the Kimye we know was on! In June, Kardashian herself would refer to herself as Kanye’s “proud girlfriend” on Twitter.

A few months after first being seen together, the couple took their first romantic getaway to Mexico where they enjoyed zip lining while staying at Girls Gone Wild businessman Joe Francis’ rental home along with other friends.

A month later, West appeared on KUWTK to go through Kim’s closet with a stylist, offering some harsh fashion tips “coming from a place of love,” as they piled up her clothes that weren’t “cool enough.” Little did anyone know this reality show appearance would foreshadow West’s even more domineering control over Kim’s wardrobe after they were married.

As the couple’s first year together came to a close, Kardashian blasted the big news to her fans on her website: "It's true!! Kanye and I are expecting a baby. We feel so blessed and lucky and wish that in addition to both of our families, his mom and my dad could be here to celebrate this special time with us. Looking forward to great new beginnings in 2013 and to starting a family. Happy New Year!!!"

Kardashian finalized her divorce from Humphries just in time for her to expand her family with West. "I firmly believe that an immediate dissolution of our marriage will help create a new, full life for me. I do not want to be married . . . when I have my baby,” she told her mother on an episode of KUWTK.

Just as Kardashian was about to have her first baby, Canadian model and DJ Leyla Ghobadi claimed she and West had an affair that extended through Kim’s pregnancy announcement. “This is going to destroy the Kardashian family," she told Star Magazine, “But if I were Kim and about to have a baby, I would want to know." A rep for West squashed the rumor, saying, “This most recent attack on Kanye West and his family is totally without merit. It's a blatant attempt by a misguided individual who is clearly seeking publicity and another in a series of malicious stories drummed up by non-credible 'news' sources. This is a sad attempt to hurt two people trying to live their lives."

After 20 months together, West finally proposed to Kardashian at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, booking it nearly a year in advance. Over one hundred of the couple’s closest friends were invited with an orchestra playing Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful.” Del Rey herself was invited to perform, but she declined. On Instagram, Kardashian shared a picture of the 15-carat diamond ring with the caption, “Please Marry Me.”

In March, it was announced the couple would tie the knot on May 24th in Paris. Kardashian teased what her wedding dress might look like on the cover of Vogue, wearing a white dress with her future hubby wearing a suit.

Kimye exchanged vows in a 16th Century fortress in Florence, Italy, the city where North was conceived, since they were unable to get a permit to marry at the Palace of Versailles, as originally planned. Guests were asked to sign a confidentiality agreement and leave their cell phones at home.  Andrea Bocelli serenaded the family and friends as Kardashian walked down the aisle on the arm of Kris Jenner and John Legend. Otis Redding and West also performed at the reception.

In May 2015, Kardashian announced she was pregnant again during a teaser trailer for KUWTK.

On December 5th, the famous couple expanded their family with Saint West.  Around this time, the cracks started to show in the beloved couple’s relationship not only on how to reveal Saint to the public but also from one of West’s notorious Twitter rants. The always-calm Kardashian once again waited two months to share a photo of their new baby boy in February along with the caption, “Today is my dad’s birthday. I know there’s nothing more in the world he would have wanted than to meet his grandchildren. So I wanted to share this pic of Saint with you all.” 

Kimye celebrated their two-year anniversary by returning to Italy. Kardashian couldn’t help but share the moment with a few Instagram posts. "My ring shined so bright for our love in Rome while we celebrated our 2-year anniversary in Italy, the country we got married in! #Blessed," she wrote as a caption for one of those images.

Just in case anyone wondered if West had problems with his wife showing off her body on Instagram, the couple appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar with West quoted as saying, "I love Kim's nude selfies. Like, I love the ones from the side, the back ones, and the front. I just love seeing her naked; I love nudity. And I love beautiful shapes. I feel like it's almost a Renaissance thing, a painting, a modern version of a painting. I think it's important for Kim to have her figure. To not show it would be like Adele not singing." In just three short years, West would change this tune.

In a frightening turn of events, Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint while returning to her apartment in Paris, the thieves stealing millions of dollars of jewelry. She was so shaken, she stayed away from social media for months, and West rescheduled his upcoming tour dates. He would later speak to iHeart Radio about the incident saying, “You’re feeling helpless, you’re feeling like what else can you do? I went to Paris on that trip to protect her. Not protect her physically, but to go and just help her with her looks ‘cause she’s in Paris.” That’s right. Two years after going through Kim’s closet on KUWTK, West is still meddling into her fashion.

Two years into the couple’s marriage, things started getting bad with rumors swirling about Kardashian wanting to divorce West to gain full custody of their two kids.  Us Weekly claimed Kim was attempting to “"build a case for full custody of the kids North and Saint" because she "doesn't want to stay married to him." Her BFF Jonathan Cheban told E! News, “"They're in good spirits ...  I do have to say that the divorcing is kind of hysterical.  I just spoke to both of them on Facetime ... and when I heard that I literally burst out laughing."

The couple celebrated their four-year wedding anniversary with Kardashian sharing a few special photos from her wedding with fans along with the caption, “4 years down and forever to go … Thank you babe for giving me our family and caring so much about us. Thank you for inspiring me on a daily, I’m so lucky. I can’t wait forever … Happy Anniversary.” At the time, West was reportedly struggling with the writing and recording process for his next album, and he celebrated by going on yet another Twitter rant.

On an episode of KUWTK, Kardashian revealed some intimate thoughts to sister Kourtney about her early days with Kanye. “When I got pregnant with North, I had no idea if Kanye West and I were going to end up together,” she said. “I was like, ‘We can break up, but let me just at least have some sperm so I can have another one,’ so I could have siblings.”

Despite reported “serious cracks in their relationship," according to Us Weekly, Kardashian had been quoted as saying that divorce might be her “only option." And yet, it was soon announced that Kimye would be having a fourth child, their second using a surrogate, expected to arrive in May 2019. Kim’s sisters were not particularly happy about this news, since reportedly, the couple already had a “team of overpaid nannies” on the payroll.

Things seemed to be on better ground after a rough couple of years once Psalm West arrived via surrogate on May 9, 2019 shortly before Kimye’s fifth wedding anniversary on May 24. Although there had been problems, West came clean about his bipolar disorder while talking to David Letterman on his Netflix show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, something his wife suggested he do. “It’s a health issue that has a strong stigma on it, and people are allowed to say anything about it and discriminate in any way,” West told the late-night vet.

In 2019, Kimye bought a huge $14 million range in Cody, Wyoming, as a haven away from their busy California lives. Almost immediately, this began to cause a stir with their new neighbors after Kardashian posted a video of herself riding an ATV alongside the local antelopes on September 15. The Cody Police Department declared that what Kardashian was doing was not against the law.

Things had been going smoothly in 2019 until the annual Met Gala when Kardashian was going to wear a custom corset by Mr. Pearl and a Thierry Mugler gown that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. West’s first glimpse of the outfit was captured on Keeping Up with the Kardashians and the recently devout Christian was not happy at all. “I didn’t realize that that was affecting like my soul and my spirit as someone that’s married and loved, and the father of what’s about to be four kids,” he explained.

Other problems around this time included West’s anger about Kardashian allowing their then 6-year-old daughter North to wear lipstick, and rumors that Kardashian didn’t enjoy the Wyoming ranch as much as her husband even while supporting him.

West’s reaction to her Met Gala outfit let to a number of reports of West forbidding his wife to show off expensive jewelry and even controlling her wardrobe choices … again! Reportedly, Kardashian was starting to lose her patience with her husband’s behavior, and it was making her increasingly “stressed” despite continued support of West on social media.