Tristan Thompson has finally decided to face his past and make amends for his cheating scandal that surfaced years ago. In a recent episode of The Kardashians, the NBA player and reality star, 32, expressed his willingness to have “long overdue” conversations with his ex Khloé Kardashian‘s family regarding his multiple infidelities.
While he expressed that he previously spoke with his ex’s mother Kris Jenner, sister Kim Kardashian, and brother Rob Kardashian, he hoped to speak with other members of the family who may not have been ready to address the issue before. The father of two did sit down for conversations with Khloé’s older sister Kourtney Kardashian Barker and younger siblings Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
In the episode available for streaming on Hulu from November 16th, Tristan and Kourtney, 44, engaged in a confrontation. Kourtney expressed her lack of an emotional connection with Tristan, her sister's former partner, and admitted that she could not pretend to feel differently about his past actions. Armed with a pen and paper, Kourtney sought an explanation from Tristan.
"I'm curious if [you are] ever like, 'I don't have remorse' ... the next day after you do the deed, do you feel anything?" she asked. He replied: "For me personally, when I cheat, I feel disgusted the next day with guilt." The Poosh founder then shot back: "So why do you do it again?" Since clips of this convo went viral, many fans of the show are taking to social media to share their thoughts, with some saying they "aren't buying" Tristan's apologies or words as they think he is still "up to no good."
Fans React To Tristan Thompson's Conversations With Ex Khloé's Family On 'The Kardashians'
In a recent Kardashians-themed Reddit thread, fans began reacting to Tristan's comments after his scene with Kourtney was shared online. "I'm still weak that he said this in PRESENT TENSE not past," one user wrote regarding his cheating explanation as another added: "Lmao. I thought the same thing."
They went on: "If you really changed or really wanted to do better -- wouldn't you say "when I cheated" or "everytime I cheated on Khloe..." This man said it in present tense like he's still doing it and will be consistent with it."
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In his convo with Kourtney, he also said to her: "I was just cheating for an action, just cheating for a feeling, but also it really came down to not knowing how to love, because that's the way I grew up."
He added: "What I saw from my dad, how he would treat my mom, as a kid when you see that, the trauma you have, because you can't protect your mom because you're so young and 'cause your mom tells you it's going to be OK, you basically numb your emotions of being scared or feeling sad. It's my form of a defense mechanism."
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Tristan revealed to Kourtney that he has been undergoing therapy for the past two years and shared that he has not had the opportunity to witness a healthy, committed relationship. He confided in her that he has never witnessed a man treat a woman with respect or been witness to a good husband.
His late mother, Andrea Thompson, always presented a facade of happiness despite his father's alleged infidelities, which Tristan said prevented him from comprehending the true impact of cheating.
"I made a mistake, multiple times, but did I ever really understand why I was making it?" Tristan said. Kourtney then asked: "But what do you think the mistake is?"
He responded: "Cheating. If I was ahead of it, and maybe told Khloé, we might've been able to figure it out together instead of her being blindsided." Kourtney then fired back: "I don’t think you deserve Khloé, or the actions that you’ve done are something she's deserved."
During another memorable moment in the episode, Tristan took a seat alongside Khloé's younger sister Kylie and expressed regret for how his past indiscretions had impacted a significant connection in her life.
Specifically, in February of 2019, he was caught engaging in romantic behavior with Jordyn Woods, a close friend of the Kylie Cosmetics mogul, 26. This act of infidelity ultimately resulted in the dissolution of their lifelong friendship and years of estrangement, until they were once again seen in each other's company during the summer of 2023.
"Everyone got affected differently but I think you were affected the most by the situation with losing a sister basically," Tristan said to Kylie. "You lost Jordyn, who was a big part of your life. I know how much she meant to your life and your guys' connection, you guys were like two peas in a pod. So the fact that I put myself and her in a situation that wasn’t right, and wasn’t smart, made it tough for you and Khloé."
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He went on: "It's a hundred percent on me but I wanna say I'm sorry and I feel bad about it. The fact that I came with my poor decisions and being a f---ing idiot, and being young and stupid, I wanted to say I'm sorry again for that just because life is so short and it sucks because even though we made our mistakes, sometimes it's hard to come back from situations like that."
In response to Tristan, Kylie expressed gratitude for his honesty and further disclosed that she had reconciled with Jordyn and they are now on amicable terms. While the Khy designer stressed that it was "hard to forgive the things that you did to Khloé," she did point out how "I want to move on from that."
Tristan then said, "I'm not in a position to ask for anything. I think the only thing I can continue to do is prove myself and be who I am and then I think overtime ... try to gain everyone's trust back."
Elsewhere in the episode, Tristan and his ex Khloé, 39, also had a discussion about his past mistakes and what he has learned from them. "Everyone has the time of, you know, growing up. That's what therapy helped me realize, like, you can't live life with regrets," the athlete said.
Khloé then said to the cameras: "Tristan has been doing a lot of therapy work and Tristan has been working on himself a lot. He wants to prove that he is a different person and I'm really not involved in these things." She noted that he has been apologizing to her and all of her family. "This is between him and each individual family member," she explained.
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The Good American founder elaborated on how her family has collectively mourned in the aftermath of Tristan's infidelity. "They’re entitled to their feelings," she said, stressing that his "mistakes" weren't just "some small thing that happened." Even after experiencing emotional trauma, she insisted: "Time has gone by, it’s done."
"My son is here, your other son is here," she added, referring to the child he welcomed with personal trainer Maralee Nichols. "And some of their emotions have settled down." Khloé went on: "Not forgotten, not forgiven — not any of that but just settled down."
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In December 2021, Tristan became a father to son Theo with the fitness enthusiast (despite still being in a relationship with Khloé when the child was conceived).
This came after the couple's on-again, off-again relationship that began in 2016 and produced a daughter named True in 2018. It was eventually disclosed that Khloé and Tristan had opted to have their son, Tatum, through a surrogate before the announcement was made.
