This is going to sound ridiculous but here it is.
The news that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West may be getting divorced ruined my day, yesterday.
Here’s why.
I’ve been particularly interested in how Kim as a wife and woman in the public eye has managed the very public challenges of her husband’s bipolar disorder. The couple’s shared faith as Christians, and Kanye’s increased commitment to his faith is also another reason I’ve been interested in them. They’re imperfect Christians, sure, but so are we all.
Kanye refuses to take medication for his condition as he says it stunts his artistry. Many others who are mentally ill share this opinion. It may be true but their family and loved ones must then deal with the fall out.
In the middle of last year, Kanye went through a sustained bipolar episode. In typical bipolar mania fashion he ran for president of the US, but barely followed up with actual campaigning. What he did do, however, at one rally was share incredibly private information from his marriage: the fact that he and Kim had briefly considered getting an abortion at one stage.
Later, he took to Twitter to attack his wife and mother in law, who he said were trying to get him committed to a mental institution. He tweeted about wanting to divorce her.
He later apologised for these mishaps. She spoke out, largely to defend him and ask for compassion. It seems she has been vital to helping him snap out of his manic episodes. But I can only imagine the toll this would take on any woman.
Of course Kim is incredibly privileged, and has a flawed history (again, who doesn’t?) She’s an easy target for criticism given her ignominious rise to fame and the opulent lifestyle she and her family live and boast of on social media.
But at the same time, her moves to study law, and start actively working in the space of prison reform, using her celebrity status to get death sentences overturned, have won my respect. And she’s clearly a formidable business woman.
Kanye has started a weekly church service of sorts, focused on worship. Kim has posted from these services. Apparently they have gone for marriage counselling. They have four kids together. I have enjoyed watching how they have both matured in the marriage, and benefited from each other’s influence. Kanye became calmer, more stable. Kim became less superficial.
Whenever a marriage ends I find myself very sad. I think marriage is one of the hardest but most beautiful things in the world.
And yes, I’m a sucker for celeb gossip. But only the kind I can learn from, and one that serves as comment on the larger human condition.
Kanye and Kim’s divorce rumours ruined my day. Here’s why.
