Photo: Instagram
They make it work.
By Victoria Soliz — Written on Oct 02, 2022
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker may have only started their romantic relationship in 2021 but they are already major #relationshipgoals.
The two reality stars have seen their fair share of heartbreak but it seems that this marriage is going to last.
But it only works if both partners put in the work. It takes time, patience, and a lot of understanding from both sides.
Some of the ways that Kardashian and Barker keep their relationship strong is through a set of rules the couple sticks to.
Here are the rules Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker follow in their relationship.
1. They must show love for each other's children.
Scenes from Hulu's "The Kardashians" show Barker and Kardashian spending plenty of quality time with each other's children.
Both Kardashian and Barker came into the relationship with children from past relationships.
With her ex-boyfriend, Scott Disick, Kardashian has three children: 12-year-old Mason, 10-year-old Penelope, and 7-year-old Reign.
Barker shares two kids with his ex-wife Shanna Moakler, 18-year-old Landon and 16-year-old Alabama.
He is also super involved in the life of his 23-year-old stepdaughter, Atiana, from Moakler's previous relationship.
The two both agree that it’s important to co-parent for the sake of their children.
2. They don’t talk bad about their exes
With such a large, blended family the two have put one important rule in place to help ease the hardship of co-parenting with exes — they don’t speak badly about their previous partners.
“They do not talk about Shanna [Moakler] at all, and neither of them wants to. Kourtney is not the type of person to bad mouth Shanna in front of her children,” a source told Hollywoodlife.
“Travis has made up a rule for the kids, which is that they are not allowed to discuss anything that goes on between their father and Kourtney with Shanna. They have agreed to this.”
This seems to be a response to how open Moakler has been in the past about how “weird” she found Barker’s new relationship.
The couple seems to be taking the high road in this situation.
3. Travis and Kourtney follow a strict vegan lifestyle
While Barker is the stricter vegan out of the two, Kardashian has opened up how his lifestyle has pushed her on her health and wellness journey.
To help promote their campaign with Daring, a vegan food brand, the two spoke with VegNews.
“I’ve been on a health and wellness journey for the past 13 years, which has made me super conscious of what I put into my body and my kids’ bodies,” Kardashian said.
“I’m not fully vegan, but Travis has helped me keep to a mostly plant-based diet, which is so much easier with Daring.”
Barker also spoke on his vegan journey.
“I haven’t eaten meat since I was 13 years old, so really good plant protein is important to me. Daring is awesome, because it’s super clean and has all-natural ingredients,” Barker said.
“When I went fully vegan 15 years ago, the options were basically straight vegetables, so I’m excited to see more plant-based choices on menus."
4. They take PDA to the next level
Before the two were even married, the two were making headlines for their very open PDA.
But there seems to be a reason for this.
“I can get more shy, but like, it's helped me so much to be present and pretend like no one else is there,” Kardashian said in an interview with Elle to help promote “The Kardashians.”
"It really helps me stay in the present and like focus on what's important.”
In the series, she also mentions how she prefers her children to see this example of love. Her sister Khloe agrees.
“And I think it's a beautiful thing. I mean, we were raised with really affectionate parents and ... I think it's beautiful for people to see love and affection,” Khloé said.
“And I mean, I don't think there's anything wrong with that, especially when it's your partner, fiancé, husband, whatever. I think that's a beautiful thing. Yeah. Whatever floats everyone's boats.”
5. Travis must respect Kourtney's parents — even her late father.
Barker seems to have a close bond with Kris Jenner but she wasn't the only parent who he looked to for approval.
Before the two tied the knot, it was revealed that Barker asked both Jenner and her late husband Robert Kardashian Sr.
In an episode of The Kardashians, aired on April 27, Jenner revealed that Barker went to the grave of her late husband to ask permission to marry his daughter.
"He came over and he asked for her hand in marriage. And I was like, literally — I want to cry now. It was so sweet and so tender. And then he said he went to your dad's grave and asked your dad. And I just lost it,” Kris revealed.
6. They can't take the media too seriously.
When you’re in the limelight as much as these two are, it can sometimes be jarring to constantly be posted and talked about.
Individually this was the case for the two but as a couple, the media ran with wild stories and even started to refer to the stars as ‘Kravis.’
However, Kardashian revealed in an interview with E! News that the two can laugh it off together.
"I love the name Kravis. "We refer to each other as Kravis sometimes," she said.
7. They are with each other 24/7.
Both behind the scenes and in the public, it seems the couple just can’t get enough of each other.
The two are so linked that Kardashian even followed Barker on his Blink-182 tour this past August, taking to Instagram to deem herself as a “tour wife.”
Barker shows his support for his wife as well. He sat front and center with her at the unveiling of Boohoo x Kourtney Kardashian, a collab the star had with the fashion brand.
It truly seems they are linked at the hip.
8. They only fly commercial.
In 2008, Barker was on his way to Los Angeles when his private plane crashed, subsequently killing his security guard and assistant. The crash left him in critical condition with 65% of his body sustaining burn wounds.
The ordeal took a toll on him, both physically and mentally.
In a 2015 interview with the Guardian, the drummer opened up about how the crash led him to be terrified of planes.
“I mean I was crazy. I couldn’t even look in the sky – I couldn’t look at a plane. I thought every plane was going to fall out of the fucking sky. I became obsessive about it, and slowly grew out of it, but to this day when I see one, it fucks me up,” he said.
It wasn't until he started dating Kardashian that he overcame this fear — but the two mainly stick to commercial flights since Barker's crash occurred on a private plane.
For this reason, the two decided to fly commercially (also to help eliminate their carbon footprint.)
However, in 2021, Barker posed with Kardashian in front of a private plane, alluding that with her by his side he’d be able to get over his fears.
Victoria Soliz is a writer with YourTango who covers news and entertainment content. Her work explores pop culture trends, film and TV, and celebrity news