Photo: Instagram
She's been through a lot.
By Grace Giannatsis — Written on Jul 16, 2022
Khloé Kardashian chronicles most of her life online for the world to see, but just like us, she has some secrets from her past that affect her today.
The “Good American” founder had a tough time as a teenager and, over the years, has let fans in on one of the more traumatic moments in her life.
Khloé Kardashian suffered memory loss after a car accident as a teenager.
Khloé was in a serious car accident as a teenager that left her with brain trauma.
In a 2013 episode of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," Khloé visited a chiropractor with her older sisters, Kim and Kourtney.
While there, the star got candid about a car accident she was in at 17 years old after Kourtney suggested that she seek treatment for memory loss.
“Maybe he could do something about your memory problems,” Kourtney is heard saying in the clip.
“Some people just have memory loss…right?” Khloé questioned. The memory loss Khloé referenced here is from the collision she got into when she was only 17 years old, most of which she can’t even remember.
“I got into a car accident in 2001. The car spun out of control, hit a pole. I mean I know that I had a very heavy concussion,” Kardashian told the chiropractor.
Khloé said that she was knocked unconscious after the accident and only woke up when she arrived at the hospital. The star says she even mistook one of her sisters for her mother.
“Your body was hit very hard, so with that amount of trauma [it] can knock your memory,” said the chiropractor. He also commented that it is not normal for someone of her age to experience memory loss, hinting that the issue was far more serious than she might have thought.
“Getting your head through a windshield is obviously not great for anything and it definitely escalated my migraines but I've been having them for years and years,” she continued to explain in the episode.
Khloe tried to seek treatment for her memory loss.
Later in the episode, she explains that her prolonged memory loss from the accident has also caused her isolate herself from her family and friends.
“It's really irritating and frustrating and kind of sad that I can’t remember so many things from my childhood,” she says.
Later in the episode, the star explains she also suffered added trauma from her late father Robert Kardashian’s involvement in the infamous trial of O.J. Simpson in 1995 and her father’s subsequent passing in 2003.
Khloé also commented that her childhood memories could have been unconsciously buried as a coping mechanism.
Khloé decided to try hypnotherapy after worrying that her memory loss could be a sign of a much larger problem, like Alzheimer’s disease, to which she said “If I could spell it I’d google it.”
She spoke during a therapy session of the time during the trial, “I remember my dad was on O.J.'s side and my mom was on Nicole’s side.”
“I remember that mom wouldn’t let me see dad any more,” she added.
Khloe has discussed struggling with migraines throughout her life.
Khloe said her migraines started in the 6th grade when she was only 12 years old.
She has been vocal about her struggles with migraines in the past as she is a spokeswoman for Nurtec, a migraine medication. In her testimonial she states “Since I was a teenager the pain has taken me away from my family and friends.''
In an interview with SiriusXM in 2020, Khloé stated in reference to her migraines, “I'm actually happy that some of that’s on camera so people don't feel so alone during this stuff and they can get that I’m going through this too and we can find a solution together hopefully.”
Grace Giannatsis is a writer who covers news and entertainment topics at YourTango. She is a Hofstra University graduate where she majored in Journalism and minored in Writing Studies.