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Or did he break Taraji's heart?
By Amy Lamare — Written on Oct 26, 2019
Lamar Odom is dredging up old news and telling anyone that will listen that he broke Taraji P. Henson's heart when he fell in love with Khloé Kardashian. Making matters worse (and yet so very predictable) the media is screaming "Khloé is a homewrecker" and "it's all her fault." In Odom's new memoir, Darkness to Light, he airs all his dirty laundry and whether Taraji wants to revisit that period in her life or not, well, he's going there. And heck, whether Khloé wants to revisit her Lamar years or not, he's gonna drag her there, too. Let's get to the bottom of this: Did Khloé Kardashian break up Lamar Odom and Taraji P. Henson?
1. Lamar and Taraji
In his memoir, Odom discusses the period of time when he and Taraji P. Henson dated. But he didn't leave it there. On an episode of TV One Uncensored, he said: “She was a little older than me, but I learned a lot from her because that was the most significant relationship as a grown-up that I had with a black woman. I used to carry a picture of her on the road with me. She gave me inspiration. A black woman, working like that, that’s just as good at her craft that I am in my craft.” Odom is 39; Henson is 49. The two met at an HBO party in 2009.
2. Khloé enters the picture
In the same interview, Lamar went on to say: “Things ended with Taraji because I was an immature punk. I didn’t know how to tell her that I was falling in love with another woman named Khloé Kardashian.” Khloé and Lamar got married in 2009. They had only been dating for a month before they were married.
3. He couldn't keep it in his pants
Ultimately, Khloé and Lamar separated in 2013 due to his infidelity. Their divorce was final in 2015. In his memoir, Odom wrote: "I could not handle the lethal cocktail of the spotlight, addiction, a diminishing career and infidelity. Oh, and did I mention the paranoia, anxiety, depression? I couldn’t keep my d— in my pants or the coke out of my nose. Drug addicts are incredibly skilled at hiding their habit. I’d get defensive and Khloé would just drop it.”
4. Twitter reacts
Twitter, predictably is trolling Lamar for leaving Taraji for Khloé. In fact, a great many tweets accuse Odom of being on crack when he made that decision. One user said "Lamar Odom definitely had to be on crack to leave Taraji P. Henson for Khloé Kardashian," while another said "Hold on!! Lamar Odom left Taraji for Kholé??? He was definitely smoking crack!! He STUPID STUPID!!!!"
5. The timeline
Khloé and Lamar got married in September, meaning they must have met in August since they got married one month after they started dating. So at most, Lamar and Taraji dated for a handful of months. In all likelihood, this was a blip in her life because she is a grown woman who doesn't air her past liaisons out for publicity.
6. Where's Taraji now?
Taraji P. Henson has'not commented on Lamar Odom's memoir — And we don't expect her to. After all, she's in love! Henson got engaged to former NFL player Kelvin Hayden in May 2018. There's no news on when wedding bells will ring for the couple, but we're wishing them the best.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based writer and editor covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.