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What did Khloe know and when?
By Nia Tipton — Written on Jul 14, 2022
With the announcement that Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson are expecting their second child together via surrogate, many people are skeptical about the timeline from when Kardashian first opened about her surrogacy journey to Thompson's paternity scandal.
The scandal, documented during the season one finale of "The Kardashians," showed that upon learning that Thompson had cheated and fathered a child with another woman, Kardashian seemed shocked and upset.
"It's a joke, it's gross. It's a joke, it's embarrassing, it's disgusting, we're all over it. I'm like, 'I didn't buy tickets to this fucking circus, but somehow I'm watching all these clowns act out in front of me,'" she said in the episode.
According to People, a source claimed that the baby had been conceived via surrogate "before it was revealed to Khloe and the public that Tristan was having a baby with someone else in December."
But, let's take a look at the facts for ourselves.
Here's the timeline of Khloe Kardashian's surrogacy journey to Tristan Thompson's paternity scandal.
April 2020: Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson consider IVF.
In an episode of "KUWTK" from April 2020, Kardashian revealed that she was considering using Thompson as a sperm donor for her future children.
"Listen, I'm just saying. True does need a sibling," Tristan said in the episode.
Khloe immediately replied: "I might get some embryos and get a sibling. I might need to borrow some sperm or get some from you. We’ll figure that out later. That’s a whole other episode."
These scenes were likely filmed months prior.
It's confirmed Thompson will be her sperm donor as Kardashian starts the process of freezing her eggs.
In a clip from the following episode, Kardashian is telling her sisters that she has already started freezing her eggs.
"I've been doing hormone injections for about five days," she said in a confessional, before telling Kourtney and Kendall that her doctor "can see 14 to 16 eggs."
"After my doctor's appointment, I talked to Tristan," she said. "If you can create embryos, and do all the DNA testing, I do think that's the smarter choice. But it's weird, because Tristan and I, we're not together."
"He has to sign legal paperwork that he would just be my sperm donor," she added. "You never know, what if in three years I get married to someone, and I'm like, 'You know what, I don't want that.'"
January 2021: Kardashian opens up about her surrogacy journey struggle.
Through the final season of her show in 2021, Kardashian is vocal about pursuing surrogacy.
In a bonus clip from "KUWTK," Kardashian talks about her surrogacy journey with Kim, Kourtney, and Scott Disick.
"Dr. A just said it probably wasn’t the best idea for me to carry," Khloe said, "She’s nervous and cautious about a couple of things," she told them, before asking Kim: "What is your opinion on me doing the surrogate?"
After receiving advice and comments from her sisters, Kardashian acknowledged that the entire process was "bizarre."
It wasn't until the "KUWTK" reunion special, did Kardashian tell host Andy Cohen that the surrogate she had lined up for her second child had fallen through.
"I’m still on that journey," she said, "I thought it would be a much easier process. And it’s not.”
March 2021: Kardashian says she and Thompson made embryos together but their plans got "delayed."
In an appearance on Sarah Hyland's "Ellen" original digital series, "Lady Parts," Kardashian got candid about her plans on expanding her family.
"I actually have done IVF about three different times," she shared. "I froze my eggs once already and when I was ready to make embryos with Tristan, I was making embryos."
She added that when she defrosted the eggs she'd frozen "none of them survived."
"I'm so grateful that I decided to make embryos. I'm 36, but as young as I am, what if I was 40 and then my eggs aren't as healthy, so then I'd have to do IVF again to make embryos, and we realized my eggs aren't strong enough to be frozen," she explained. "They should be mixed immediately with sperm to make embryos."
March 2021: Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson celebrate his 30th birthday, Maralee Nichols get pregnant.
Kardashian and Thompson are widely assumed to be back together after she shares a snap for his birthday.
We later learn that Thomspon cheated on Kardashian with fitness trainer Maralee Nichols around this time — causing her to get pregnant with his child.
June 2021: Tristan Thompson was named in Maralee Nichols' paternity suit.
Though it was not made public until later, Thompson is named in a paternity suit filed by Nichols in June. In response, Thompson requested genetic testing.
The following month, Thompson filed a response, telling Nichols that he would not “be involved at all” in their child’s life.
“My feelings haven’t changed at all,” he allegedly texted Nichols. “Btw if you think having this baby is gonna make you some money. It’s completely wrong. You are aware that I’m retiring after this season. So in terms of support it will be whatever is required monthly for someone who’s unemployed.”
November 2021: Kardashian and Thompson's surrogate becomes pregnant.
According to Entertainment Tonight, a representative for Kardashian said the surrogate became pregnant in November 2021, one month before Thompson's paternity scandal was made public.
"We can confirm True will have a sibling who was conceived in November. Khloe is incredibly grateful to the extraordinary surrogate for such a beautiful blessing. We’d like to ask for kindness and privacy so that Khloe can focus on her family," the source said.
"The two aren’t together and Khloe will have the baby full time, but Khloe wants Tristan in both the kids lives as much as he wants to be,” they added.
December 2021: Thompson's paternity scandal is made public.
Amid Kardashian's plans to have Thompson move in with her so they could focus on welcoming their new baby, it was revealed in December 2021 that Thompson cheated on Kardashian while the two were together in March 2021, and fathered a baby with Nichols.
The news was later confirmed by Thompson himself, who shared the paternity results on his Instagram story confirming that he was the father of the son Nichols had birthed in December.
The NBA star apologized publicly to Kardashian, though the damage was already done.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.