Kim Kardashian's 40th birthday bash in October 2020, featured on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, became a talked-about event. One of the highlights of the extravaganza was a realistic hologram of Kim's father, the late Robert Kardashian Sr. As the reaction to the “lifelike” hologram grew on social media, many wanted to know more about the esteemed lawyer and businessman, who defended OJ Simpson.
In the hologram gifted to the current The Kardashians star by Kim's ex-husband, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, the 3D-rendered Robert gave a beautiful message to his daughter. Nonetheless, there are memories that the Kardashians would surely prefer to forget, and one of them is Robert and Kris' bitter divorce. The drama that caused the split can only be described as worthy of reality TV.
KUWTK's Kris & Robert's Relationship Begins
Robert, a born-again Christian of Armenian descent, belonged to a wealthy Los Angeles family, and was considered one of Beverly Hills’ most eligible bachelors, as per Page Six. When Robert Kardashian met San Diego-born Kris Jenner née Houghton at a horse race in California in 1973, sparks flew instantly. At that time, Kris was only 17, and in a committed relationship with Cesar Sanudo. Sanudo was away on tour (he was a pro golfer) often, so there were gaps in his relationship with Kris.
Robert Kardashian & Kris Jenner's Torrid Affair
This distance between Kris and Robert probably made it easier for Kris to start a torrid affair with Robert, who was then 28. Their romance was finally bought out in the open when Cesar walked in on Kris and Robert one day. Needless to say, Cesar broke it off with Kris. However, Robert thought that Kris was too young for a serious relationship and soon dumped her for Elvis's ex, Priscilla Presley.
By 1978, his romance with Presley had failed, and Robert tied the knot with American Airlines flight attendant, Kris. In the beginning, they had a fairytale marriage. The future Kardashian/Jenner matriarch got pregnant on her honeymoon, and went on to have four children with Robert.
A little over a decade later, the good times ended, and the couple eventually divorced. The major reason for the split was Kris Jenner's 1989 affair with soccer player Todd Waterman. Robert Kardashian found out about the affair because he had hired private investigators to look into what was going on. The affair is what Kris claims is one of the biggest regrets of her life. When speaking about her split from Robert, she said, "When I look back on it now, probably one of my biggest regrets in my life is that that marriage fell apart,” as reported by People.
Robert Kardashian cut off access to all of Kris' credit cards, and left her in a bad place financially. While dealing with all of this, Kris met Caitlyn Jenner on a blind date, and they got married in 1991. Robert also moved on, and went on to two other marriages. The bitter divorce drew a lot of flak from her kids, especially her oldest child Kourtney Kardashian. According to CheatSheet, she once admitted that she still resents her mother for, "breaking up their family." However, it's easy to see how close Kris Jenner is with all of her offspring, so it seems like Kourtney and Kris have buried the hatchet.
Robert passed away in 2003, after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer at age 59. At that time, he had been married for all of six weeks to his longtime girlfriend, Ellen Pierson. Although all his kids became household names due to their popular reality show KUWTK and current iteration The Kardashians, Robert also had his run-in with fame. He was well-known for acting as an attorney in the infamous OJ Simpson, "trial of the century." While Robert died four years before the first episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians aired in 2007, as his hologram said, he would surely be proud of his children and their success.
Source: Page Six, People, CheatSheet