Looking in the rearview. Lamar Odom is continuing to open up about what went wrong in his marriage to ex-wife Khloé Kardashian — and hinted that he might be ready for a second chance.
The former basketball player, 42, discussed his relationship with the Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum, 37, during the Monday, February 14, episode of Celebrity Big Brother. “I had a beautiful wife,” he told his costars. “We were together every day until we got married.”
After reflecting on their wedding day, Odom added, “I never thought about getting married again. I didn’t treat that good woman right.”
When fellow houseguest Cynthia Bailey encouraged Odom to “try to make contact” with Kardashian once his time on the CBS show is done, the New York native agreed.
“I’m gonna try my damnedest,” the retired Los Angeles Lakers athlete replied. “I wish I was mature enough to handle [marriage] right, but I wasn’t. If given the opportunity again, now I know what to do. What to do and what not to do. Sometimes it’s hard for me to sleep at night thinking about her.”
Odom and the Good American cofounder exchanged vows in 2009 after 30 days of dating. The twosome called it quits four years later, but their divorce was put on hold following the Dancing With the Stars alum’s near-fatal overdose in 2015. Kardashian helped her former spouse throughout his recovery, filing to end their marriage once again in May 2016. Their divorce was finalized by the end of that year.
Long before he joined the Celebrity Big Brother house, Odom was vocal about hoping to reconnect with the California native and her family. “Unfortunately, you know, due to my behavior and some bad decisions, we don’t really talk any longer,” he said on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy in May 2021. “I miss their family tremendously. We have to live with the decisions that we make and then, hopefully in time people heal and [will] be able to forgive me.”
At the time, the Darkness to Light author referred to his relationship with the reality star as “one of the best times in my adult life.”
In a confessional during Monday’s episode, Odom owned up to making mistakes throughout his marriage, noting that it was “never my intention to hurt” his then-wife.
“When I married Khloé, there’s just so many things that I did wrong when it came to that relationship,” he told the cameras. “If I could take it back, of course, I’d take it back. … My mind and head weren’t in the right place. I wasn’t taking care of myself.”
Once back in the real world, the Olympian hopes to be friends with his ex. “I would probably just want to take her to dinner. It would be a blessing just to be in her presence,” he said. “[I’d] say I’m sorry and what a fool I was. But she has her right to never ever see me again, for the things I put her through. Time moves on and people change. I would say I’m a lot more loyal now. Just saying her name brightens up my day. All I can do is wish the best for her.”
Earlier this month, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that Kardashian thinks Odom’s turn on the reality competition is a “great” opportunity, adding, “It’s income for him and something new and exciting.”
Celebrity Big Brother airs on CBS Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. ET and Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.