Before he became a father of four, Kanye West‘s dating history shows he was something of a ladies’ man. When he first broke onto the Hollywood scene, he was in a serious relationship with designer Alexis Phifer that almost made it down the aisle.
Once the couple called it quits, though, the rapper was linked to all kinds of A-list faces and famous models. Ultimately, it took Kanye a while to end up with The One — a.k.a. Kim Kardashian. However, it was clear the Chicago native was smitten ever since their first meeting in the early 2000s.
“He was recording a song with Brandy, and I was her friend,” Kim dished during a 2017 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. “I vividly remember hanging out with him, and then they did a video together, so I’d see him a few times. He was asking his friends: ‘Who is this ‘Kim Kardajan?’ He didn’t know what my name was.” Despite that, he was taken with her.
Following Kim’s 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries, she and Kanye reconnected in 2011. ‘After my breakup, I was feeling really low and down and he said, ‘Just come to Paris and see my fashion show,'” the Skims founder recalled on the Kardashian family’s TV show.
“He jokes that he put on this whole fashion show just to get a date with me. So, I went there and I stayed with him, and that’s where we started dating,” Kim, who shares children North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm with Kanye, continued. “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.”
Unfortunately, in January 2021, the pair’s marriage of nearly seven years hit a snag. After months of marital drama, Kim “wants to move forward” with divorcing Kanye, multiple sources confirmed to In Touch on January 5. “Kim and Kanye’s marriage has finally reached the point of no return,” added an insider. “They spent most of the holidays apart and Kim is talking to divorce lawyers. She is serious this time.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see Kanye West’s complete dating history.