Kim Kardashian addresses Kanye West's claims about their children: What really happened

Kim Kardashian finally broke.

After months of cryptic social media posts from her ex-husband and headlines questioning her integrity as a mother, Kim Kardashian addresses Kanye West's claims about their children with a level of bluntness we haven't seen since their 2022 divorce papers were signed. It wasn't just a quick tweet or a PR-scrubbed statement. She went deep on the Call Her Daddy podcast and throughout the latest season of The Kardashians, basically telling the world that the narrative Kanye has been spinning is, well, mostly fiction.

Honestly, the situation is a mess.

One day Kanye is on X (formerly Twitter) shouting into the void that he’s being "prevented" from seeing Saint or North. The next, Kim is sitting in a beige confessional booth looking legitimately exhausted, explaining that he hasn't actually called to see them in months. It’s a classic "he said, she said," but with four real kids—North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm—caught in the middle of a global spotlight.

The "Kidnapping" Narrative vs. Reality

Kanye has used some pretty heavy language. He’s used the word "kidnapped." He’s claimed he doesn't know where his kids are.

Kim’s response? "It’s a divorce, not a kidnapping."

💡 You might also like: Birth Date of Pope Francis: Why Dec 17 Still Matters for the Church

During her October 2025 sit-down with Alex Cooper, Kim point-blank denied ever keeping the children from him. She revealed that they still live in the same house. They haven't moved. The address is the same. She even brought up the house Kanye bought right next door specifically to co-parent, asking rhetorically what happened to the plan where he was going to take them to school every day.

The reality seems to be more about distance and consistency than legal roadblocks. While Kanye has been traveling the world—spending time in Italy, Japan, and Saudi Arabia with his wife Bianca Censori—Kim has been the one holding down the fort in Hidden Hills. She mentioned that whenever he does ask to see them, she sends them. She’s sent those kids across the globe to be with him. But the kicker? She claims there are long stretches—sometimes months—where they don’t hear from him at all.

Why Kim stayed silent for so long

You’ve probably wondered why she didn't clap back sooner.

Kim explained that she’s been dealing with what she calls a "Stockholm syndrome" vibe. For years, she felt responsible for protecting him, especially during his mental health struggles. She didn't want the kids to see the "messy" side of their dad.

But things changed when the kids started getting older. North is 12 now. She has internet access. She sees the TikToks. She reads the comments. Kim admitted that it’s getting harder to hide the "unsettling feeling" of not knowing what version of their father is going to show up on the internet each morning. The stability she craves for them is constantly at odds with Kanye’s public outbursts.

📖 Related: Kanye West Black Head Mask: Why Ye Stopped Showing His Face

The Battle Over North's Career

The tension isn't just about visitation; it's about the kids' public identities. In early 2025, a major flashpoint occurred over a song titled "Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine."

The track allegedly featured North rapping, alongside a phone conversation between Kanye and Sean "Diddy" Combs. Kim was reportedly "vehemently opposed" to this. She didn't want North associated with the project, especially given the controversy surrounding the other artists involved.

• The Trademark Dispute: Kanye leaked screenshots of texts where Kim asked to trademark North's name to protect her from being used in these songs.
• The "War" Threat: Kanye’s response was chilling, telling her to "amend it or I'm going to war."
• The Legal Fallout: Sources like TMZ reported that Kim was even considering asking a judge to strip Kanye of joint legal custody because he was ignoring their agreed-upon mediation rules.

It’s a high-stakes power struggle. Kanye sees it as his right as a father to include his daughter in his art. Kim sees it as her job to protect a 12-year-old from the "demented psychological warfare" of the music industry.

Co-Parenting or "Solo" Parenting?

Despite the joint custody agreement, Kim describes herself as a "full-time" mom. She’s the one doing the school runs, the bedtime routines, and dealing with the pre-teen drama.

She shared a story about how she used to invite Kanye over for dinner every night after the split, hoping to mimic the healthy co-parenting she saw with her own parents, Kris Jenner and Robert Kardashian Sr. But that dream died pretty quickly. It turns out, that level of "normalcy" is hard to maintain when one parent is living a nomadic lifestyle and the other is trying to build a multi-billion dollar empire while raising four kids.

👉 See also: Nicole Kidman with bangs: Why the actress just brought back her most iconic look

The toll on Kim's health

It’s not all SKIMS and glam squads. Kim revealed that the stress of the "back and forth" actually caused her psoriasis to flare up again. She’s human. She gets tested.

She admitted to being "exhausted" by the gaslighting. It’s one thing to have a difficult ex; it’s another to have an ex with millions of followers who believe his version of the story before you even have a chance to wake up and check your phone.

What most people get wrong about the situation

A lot of the internet chatter suggests that Kim is "controlling" or trying to "erase" Kanye from the kids' lives. But if you look at the evidence, she’s actually been his biggest defender for a decade. Even now, she says she never speaks negatively about him to the children.

"The last thing my kids need is for them to hear it from me," she said.

She’s playing the long game. She believes that when the kids are older, they’ll look back and see who was there every single day and who was only there when the cameras or the "narrative" required it. It’s a heartbreaking position to be in—wanting your kids to love their father while simultaneously having to protect them from his public persona.

Actionable Insights for Complex Situations

While most of us aren't co-parenting with a global rap icon, the "Kim vs. Kanye" saga offers some real-world lessons for anyone dealing with high-conflict family dynamics:

• Document Everything: Kim’s ability to point to specific dates, addresses, and lack of phone calls is her best defense against false claims.
• Prioritize the Routine: Kids thrive on stability. Even when the other parent is "chaotic," keeping the home routine (school, hobbies, dinners) consistent helps them feel safe.
• The "Five-Year Rule": Kim mentioned her mom, Kris Jenner, told her it takes about five years after a divorce for things to actually settle into a "co-existence." Don't expect peace in the first year or two.
• Protect the Child's Digital Footprint: In 2026, a child's online presence is their future. Setting boundaries early—even if it causes friction with the other parent—is a long-term win for the child's privacy.

The drama isn't over. As long as Kanye has a platform and Kim has a reality show, we’ll keep seeing these headlines. But for now, Kim has made her stance clear: she isn't hiding the kids; she's simply the one showing up.