There will never be another couple quite like Kimye.
Kim Kardashian West and her husband, rapper and designer Kanye West, are officially separated and divorcing after six years of marriage: The pair share four children together, North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm West.
Over the years, the pair have redefined the concept of the Hollywood power couple and managed to maintain public interest throughout their near decade together. Though the days of over-the-top music video cameos, front-row fashion show appearances, and jaw-dropping cover interviews may ultimately be over, we'll always have the memories—and, oh, are there many.
Take a look back at Kim and Kanye's relationship over the years below.
2003: Kim and Kanye meet through mutual friend Brandy.
"I met him I think in 2002 or 2003. He was recording a song with Brandy, and I was her friend. I vividly remember hanging out with him, and then they did a video together, so I'd see him a few times," said Kim during the Keeping Up with the Kardashians 10-year anniversary episode. "He was asking his friends, 'Who is this Kim Kardajan?' He didn't know what my name was."
October 2010: Kanye appears on Keeping Up with the Kardashians for the first time.
The pair reportedly first met while Kim was still dating model (and Halle Berry's ex-beau) Gabriel Aubry and filming Keeping Up with the Kardashians. West was also coming out of his relationship with model and muse Amber Rose. Kim and Kanye didn't begin dating right away, but remained in touch and friendly with each other.
April 2012: Kanye professes his love for Kim—how else?—in a song.
A year after Kim's failed—and short-lived—marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries, West released his track "Cold," in which he admits that he's long admired Kim from afar. "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," he raps.
Kim was asked to address the song during a 2012 guest appearance on the Today show, but played coy even though relationship rumors continued to swirl around the pair and they continued to make public appearances together following the interview.
December 2012: Kim and Kanye announce they're expecting a child together.
Dimitrios Kambouris//Getty Images
Kanye broke the baby news during an Atlanta concert, with Kim later taking to her official website to confirm.
June 2013: North is born!
Bertrand Rindoff Petroff//Getty Images
The couple welcomed their first child, a baby girl, on June 15, 2013. They later confirmed her name to indeed be North West, and the Internet was never the same.
October 2012: Kim and Kanye get engaged.
Who can forget Kanye's over-the-top proposal in an empty baseball stadium? The KUWTK cameras were there to capture it all, of course. Kim confirmed the engagement news with a romantic, black-and-white Instagram post with the simple caption, "YES!!!"
November 2013: Kim makes a sexy cameo in Kanye's "Bound 2" music video.
The honey highlights! The motorcycle! When Kanye's music was still really good!
May 2014: The couple marry in a lavish ceremony in Florence, Italy.
The couple made it official in front of their family and friends in an ultra-glam Italian destination wedding in 2014. Kim wore a lace cutout gown by Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy for her aisle moment, and the couple had a performance from Andrea Bocelli and celebrity friends such as John Legend and Chrissy Teigen in attendance.
December 2015: A Saint is born.
Kim and Kanye welcomed their second child, a boy they named Saint West, on December 5, 2015. Kim shared the first adorable photo of her baby boy, two months later, in February.
August 2016: Kim and Kanye cover Harper's BAZAAR's September issue.
The stunning cover shoot, styled by Carine Roitfeld and lensed by the late Karl Lagerfeld, featured the couple photographed at their most intimate and came with a slew of Kanye-isms in the accompanying interview.
"I love her 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," said Kanye at the time. "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."
Another favorite?
"You killed this second pregnancy, though," said Kanye. "Your body slammed that crap. You made that second pregnancy your bitch."
October-November 2016: Kim is robbed at gunpoint, and Kanye is hospitalized.
Marc Piasecki//Getty Images
The tail end of 2016 was a tough year for the Wests. Kim was robbed at gunpoint in Paris during Fashion Week, which led to the usually very open reality star becoming more secluded and maintaining a lower profile for a while. A month after Kim's robbing, Kanye canceled the remainder of his Saint Pablo World Tour and was hospitalized at the UCLA Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation.
January 2018: Kim and Kanye welcome baby Chicago.
The couple welcomed their third child, a baby girl they named Chicago, via surrogate on January 18, 2018.
May 2018: The Wests celebrate four years of marriage.
Kim took to Instagram to share a stunning, never-before-seen wedding portrait of their big day four years prior.
"4 years down and forever to go....," Kim captioned the post.
May 2019: Kim and Kanye welcome their fourth child, Psalm, also via surrogate.
Their youngest, Psalm West, was born on May 10, 2019.
July 2020: Kanye reveals private family moments to the public, and Kim addresses Kanye's bipolar disorder.
Following Kanye's bizarre and botched presidential run, and after the rapper revealed at one of his "rallies" that he and Kim once considered aborting their firstborn daughter, Kim addressed Kanye's bipolar disorder with fans on Instagram.
"As many of you know, Kanye has bi-polar disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand. I’ve never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye’s right to privacy when it comes to his health. But today, I feel like I should comment on it because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health," shared Kim.
"I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions. He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressure of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions."
October 2020: Kanye wishes Kim a happy 40th birthday—and gifts her a hologram.
For his wife's 40th birthday, Kanye gifted Kim an extremely lifelike hologram of her late father, Robert Kardashian.
"For my birthday, Kanye got me the most thoughtful gift of a lifetime. A special surprise from heaven. A hologram of my dad," wrote Kim on Instagram. "It is so lifelike and we watched it over and over, filled with lots so tears and emotion. I can’t even describe what this meant to me and my sisters, my brother, my mom and closest friends to experience together. Thank you so much Kanye for this memory that will last a lifetime ✨"
January 2021: Kim and Kanye officially separate and head toward divorce.
On January 5, 2021, multiple news outlets reported that the Wests were no more. At the time, Kim had not yet filed for divorce from her husband. And both spouses had yet to confirm or address the divorce news publicly.
"They've seen each other for the sake of the kids but have been living separately. Kim knows the marriage is over. She's known for a while," a source told E! News.
"He knows that she’s done. She has had enough, and she told him that she wants some space to figure out her future," another source told People. "He's okay. He's sad, but okay. He knows the inevitable will happen, and he knows that it's coming soon."
February 2021: Kim files for divorce.
Kim filed to divorce Kanye after almost seven years of marriage, TMZ reported on February 19. The separation is "amicable," sources told TMZ, and Kim is seeking joint legal and physical custody of their four children, which Kanye has agreed to. The couple are reportedly committed to co-parenting together. The documents were filed by high-profile divorce attorney Laura Wasser, per the outlet.
November 2022: They reach a divorce settlement.
At last, Kim and Kanye have come to an agreement on child custody arrangements and their finances.
The rapper will pay $200k per month in child support, according to People, and will be responsible for half of the kids' medical, educational, and security expenses. The former couple will have joint physical and legal custody of their four children: North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm.
The two will additionally split assets and their property according to their prenuptial agreement. Both parties have waived spousal support.
Bianca Betancourt is the culture editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she covers all things film, TV, music, and more. When she's not writing, she loves impulsively baking a batch of cookies, re-listening to the same early-2000s pop playlist, and stalking Mariah Carey's Twitter feed.
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