Blast from the past! Kanye West had more than one high-profile relationship before he married Kim Kardashian in 2014.
The “Jesus Walks” rapper scored mainstream success after the release of his debut record, The College Dropout, in 2004. Two years before the album dropped, West sparked a romance with designer Alexis Phifer. The pair dated on and off from 2002 to 2008, with the “Love Lockdown” artist even getting down on one knee in August 2006.
West’s life changed forever after his mother, Donda, died in November 2007 after complications from plastic surgery procedures. His romance with Phifer came to an end as he dealt with his grief and the duo called off their engagement in 2008.
Two years later, the “Touch the Sky” artist began dating Amber Rose. The former couple quickly got serious but went their separate ways in 2010. Looking back at her relationship with West 10 years later, Rose claimed that she’s been “picked on” by him ever since they split.
“I didn’t soak up anything from him. Me and him are two very different people,” she said during an October 2020 episode of the “No Jumper” podcast. “I’m a compassionate person. I have empathy. I’m a good person. That’s why people love me. That’s why anybody I’ve ever dated loved me. … I don’t know if he says things to make his wife more comfortable, but to slut-shame me and say you needed 30 showers, like, bro, you took me around the world. Since when do you need 30 showers?”
Following her split from the Yeezy designer, Rose later moved on with Wiz Khalifa, with whom she welcomed son Sebastian in February 2013, five months before they tied the knot. The model filed for divorce in September 2014.
West, for his part, wed Kim Kardashian in May 2014 after two years of dating. The couple started their relationship while the KKW Beauty founder was still legally married to ex-husband Kris Humphries, from whom she split after just 72 day of marriage. Her divorce was finalized in June 2013.
“Right before I got married to Kris Humphries, [Kanye and I] were talking, and I just went a different direction,” the makeup mogul recalled during Keeping Up With the Kardashians‘ 10th anniversary special, which aired in 2017. “I think I had to go through that to figure out what I wanted. After my breakup, I was feeling really low and down and he said, ‘Just come to Paris and see my fashion show.’ … I swear from the moment I landed, I fell madly in love with him and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, why didn’t I do this sooner?’ Like, this is what real life is like — love and fun and real support.”
The pair tied the knot in Italy in May 2014 and share four kids: North (born in 2013), Saint (born in 2015), Chicago (born in 2018) and Psalm (May 2019). After working through a rocky year in 2020, Kardashian and West sparked rumors that they were heading for a split.
“They have both been living separate lives for many months now,” a source told Us Weekly exclusively in January 2021, noting that the California native was “done” with her marriage. “Kim and Kanye haven’t been on the same page for a while now.”
Scroll down for a look back at West’s love life.
