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A relaxing island vacay with Kim and the kids was just what was needed after a helter-skelter few weeks in which billionaire hip-hop star and presidential candidate Kanye West spectacularly melted down.
Yeezy may have claimed that he’s wanted to get a divorce from wife Kim Kardashian for the past two years but the pair seem to be making a concerted effort to patch over the cracks now.
The couple recently flew to an exclusive Dominican Republic retreat with kids North West (7), Saint (4), Chicago (2) and Psalm (7 months) for a few days to regroup.
“They have been able me to spend with their kids as well as discuss their future and what that looks like without anyone else getting involved,” an insider says.
“They needed time off the grid until they have things figured out.”
The break appeared to have been just what the doctor ordered.
“Kim and Kanye are in a better place,” a source told Us Weekly. “Kanye knows speaking about Kim’s family wasn’t the right thing to do.”
At his recent chaotic rally to kickstart his presidential campaign, Ye spoke of how he had wanted to abort North and he also had harsh things to say about his mother-in-law, Kris Jenner.
Kim and Kanye have “agreed” not to talk about politics for now, the source adds.
“Kanye is in a great place. He’s feeling creatively inspired and really enjoying his family time.”
Kanye's family life and mental health might be in a better state but his presidential campaign appears to be on life support.
The rapper has only managed to get his Birthday Party on the ballot in three US states and stands no chance of getting the number of electoral votes needed to potentially win the presidency.
Kanye has seemingly confirmed that his campaign is a spoiler – a sneaky way for the Donald Trump camp to divert black votes away from Democratic contender Joe Biden.
The hip-hop mogul told Forbes magazine that rather than running for president, he was “walking … walking . . . to win”.
When it was pointed out that he can’t actually win, he replied: “I’m not going to argue with you. Jesus is king.”
Political scientist Andra Gillespie says she’s troubled that the Republican party is seemingly using Kanye to woo black voters.
“I'm actually really concerned about the ethics of it – not just the allegation of trying to support a third party candidate to play spoiler in an election, but just the exploitation of taking advantage of somebody who's obviously not gotten his mental illness under control.”
Several Democrats reacted with disgust to the news of the alleged Republican involvement in the rapper’s campaign. “What a disgusting dirty trick that shows no respect for voters or whatever Kanye is going through,” tweeted Benjamin J Rhodes, a top national security aide to ex-president Barack Obama.
Kanye's meltdown last month came to a head at his election rally in South Carolina last month with a series of manic tweets, bizarre claims and clear paranoia.
Was it all a cunning ploy to secure his place in the presidential poll, onlookers wondered? A publicity stunt to promote his still-unreleased new album? Or was it simply a man having a mental health crisis while the world watched.
The latter definitely ticks the “yes” box, especially as he has been open about his struggle with bipolar disorder.
At the rally a rambling, tearful Kanye, wearing a bulletproof vest and with “2020” shaved into his head, claimed Kim wanted an abortion when she was pregnant with eldest child North.
“My dad wanted to abort me,” the weeping star said. “My mom saved my life. There would’ve been no Kanye West because my dad was too busy.”
Then he shouted, “I almost killed my daughter! I almost killed my daughter!”
The next day he tweeted Kim was “trying to fly to Wyoming [where he has a home] to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughter’s life”.
Get Out centres around an African-American man who visits his white girlfriend’s parents during a weekend getaway. Everything seems fine at first and then all hell breaks loose.
Kanye followed up his tweet with, “If I get locked up like Mandela . . . Y’all will know why.”
Momager Kris Jenner wasn’t spared. He called her “Kris Jong-Un”, claimed she and Kim were complicit in “trying to fly in two doctors” and called her and Kim “white supremacists”.
The cherry on top was Kanye’s claim that Kim had cheated on him with rapper Meek Mill.
Kim and Meek have teamed up to discuss prison reform, a cause she’s passionate about, and attended a criminal justice reform summit in Los Angeles in 2018. Kanye said she was “out of line” to meet with Meek and insinuated the two had slept together during the summit.
He also said he was “trying to get divorced” from the reality show star.
Kim released a statement on Instagram a few days after her husband’s outbursts. “Anyone who has [bipolar] or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand.
“I’ve never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye’s right to privacy when it comes to his health,” she added.
“But today, I feel like I should comment on it because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health. Those who understand mental illness or compulsive behaviour know that the family is powerless unless the person with the illness is a child.
“Adults have to engage in the process of getting help.”
Kanye has often spoken about his struggle with bipolar disorder and what it’s like when he has “an episode”.
“When you’re in this state, you’re hyper-paranoid about everything,” he told talk show host David Letterman last year. “Everything’s a conspiracy. You feel the government is putting chips in your head. You feel you’re being recorded. You feel all these things.
“You have this moment [where] you feel everyone wants to kill you. You pretty much don’t trust anyone.”
Kanye shared that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 39. “But like I said on the album [Ye], it’s not a disability, it’s a superpower.”
He backtracked on that statement a few months later, saying he’d been misdiagnosed and was suffering from sleep deprivation.
However, in an interview with Vogue, Kim said Kanye had accepted he was bipolar but didn’t take medication for it.
Kanye eventually said sorry to Kim for his outbursts. “I would like to apologise to my wife Kim for going public with something that was a private matter. I did not cover her like she has covered me. Please forgive me”.
Whatever happens next, hold onto your hats. It’s sure to be a wild ride.
Sources: washingtonpost.com, people.com, dailymail.co.uk, AFP, apnews.com, nytimes.com, tmz.com, npr.com, nytimes.com, forbes.com, usweekly.com
