Rules Kim Kardashian Had To Follow When She Was With Kanye
It's safe to say that when Kim Kardashian and Kanye "Ye" West were together, they were one of the biggest power couples in the world. The two met back in the early 2000s but were friends for years before things became romantic. They eventually went on to tie the knot with a lavish Italian wedding in 2014 and welcome four kids, all while continuing to grow their respective business empires. The two supported each other through various personal matters, like Kardashian's 2016 armed robbery or West's mental health struggles. Yet their relationship was apparently not as a solid behind closed doors.
Despite Kardashian being known as a strong and powerful businesswoman, in terms of her private life, it appeared to be West who called the shots. In fact, she suggested to Vogue that it was her finally putting her foot down and doing what she wanted that led to their split. "I decided, I'm going to make myself happy. ... And even if that created changes and caused my divorce, I think it's important to be honest with yourself," she said.
Although Kardashian may be happy these days, it sounds like it wasn't an easy road to get to that point. Since she's come a long way since then, let's break down the rules Kim Kardashian reportedly had to follow when she was with Ye.
Kanye West told Kim Kardashian what to wear
Kanye "Ye" West has always had strong opinions about what Kim Kardashian wears. It was something he had expressed from the beginning, by well... humbling the reality star. "I always thought I had really good style—until I met my husband and he told me that I had the worst style," Kardashian told W. He then not only cleaned out her closet but his overall influence on her outfits became a big focus of their relationship. Per People, she said on the "The Kardashians," "Kanye has always dressed me. In the early 2000s, he would literally just send me random emails with all these looks and what my style should be."
Kardashian seemed grateful for West's instructions at the time though, even giving him credit when she accepted The Fashion Icon award at the 2021 People's Choice Awards. However, it was after their split that she realized she may have relied on his guidance too much. "I got to a point where I would just ask him for advice for everything, down to what I wear. Even now I'm having like panic attacks, like, 'What do I wear?'" she said on the reality show.
West has been critical of Kardashian's fashion choices since their split, and his feedback isn't exactly constructive. In another episode, she shared that West messaged her to let her know he wasn't a fan of a recent outfit. "Would have went to jail before I went out in that," he wrote.
Kanye West restricted Kim Kardashian's makeup
Kim Kardashian may run her own successful beauty line, but it appears it was Kanye "Ye" West who used to run how she did her makeup at home. A source claimed to Life & Style (via The Hollywood Gossip), "[He] likes her to be natural and has demanded that she wear less makeup," adding, "When she does go out, he insists she tone it down." Of course Kardashian is beautiful with or without makeup but it seems she was downplaying something she was passionate about just for him. "My husband loves me without make-up so... I would wear make-up 24/7 if I could, but he likes me without it," she said at the Vogue 100 Festival in 2016, per The Mirror.
While Kardashian said herself she'd do things differently if it were up to her, she defended his desire to dictate how she looked. "That's his love language," she explained on an episode of "The Kardashians," per People.
West also apparently already established makeup rules for their eldest daughter, North, who shares her mother's love for beauty products. However, he and Kardashian didn't see eye to eye. "He changed all the rules. ... I'd let her wear a red lip, or I'd let her do one pop of something," Kardashian told E! News. "So, I kind of got in trouble for that. So, it's now no more makeup."
Kim Kardashian couldn't do spinoffs
Kim Kardashian was a reality TV star long before she met Kanye "Ye" West, apparently much to his dismay. An insider told Radar in 2014, "It's no secret how much Kanye dislikes and despises Kim's involvement with reality television." He did reportedly try to control it as soon as they got married though. A year after their wedding, a source told Life & Style (via The Hollywood Gossip) in 2015, "He already laid down the law about what she can and can't do for work. He doesn't want her filming any of the spin-offs." That may be why that year's Kardashian spinoff, "Kourtney & Khloé Take The Hamptons," was focused on her sisters instead, with the Skims founder only making appearances.
Yet the irony is that the first Kardashian show that West appeared on was one of their spinoffs, 2010's "Kourtney & Kim Take New York" to be exact. And while West went to be seen on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" after that, he refused to do it that often. He explained on Hot 97's "The Angie Martinez Show," "I don't really do her show just because I don't particularly like the way the producers shoot some of the shots."
It seems that West had problems with "The Kardashians" on Hulu as well, but for different reasons, suggesting it caused their divorce. He wrote on Instagram (via Hollywood Life), "Kids want parents to stay together but Hulu needed a new narrative."
Kanye West's house rules
You could say that Kanye "Ye" West ruled the house he once shared with Kim Kardashian even before they moved in, considering that he was the one who chose its now infamous monochrome style. Kardashian told Architectural Digest how he had decided to completely alter the home she had wanted to fit his vision. "I thought the house was perfection," she said. "Kanye was less enthusiastic. He said, 'It's workable.'" Yet Kardashian seemingly gave in because she believed that her husband knew better than her, even though she had owned homes before. "I really didn't know anything about furniture before I met Kanye but being with him has been an extraordinary education," she said.
West not only influenced every aspect of Kardashian's style, but apparently also had rules for what she could and could not do in her own abode. She made that evident in 2018 when she tweeted a response to him posting photos of their house online. She wrote, "Ummm babe. We had a rule to not show our home on social media! Soooo can we now allow 'KUWTK' filming in the home?" (They did eventually allow "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" cameras into the house.)
Kanye West didn't want Kim Kardashian dressing sexy
Kim Kardashian may be known as a sex symbol but it appears Kanye "Ye" West eventually took issue with his then-wife's image. Viewers got to see first-hand on an episode of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians” how the "Heartless" rapper tried to change Kardashian's 2019 Met Gala look the night before the event because he felt it was too sexy. "A corset is a form of underwear," he told her, per People, adding, "It's hot, for who though?" Kardashian was then seen visibly upset by his disapproval of the dress that took several months to make. West later tried to justify his actions, telling her, "You are my wife and it affects me when pictures are too sexy."
However, Kardashian stood up to West, pointing out, "You built me up to be this sexy person and confidence ... and just because you're on a journey and transformation doesn't mean I'm in the same spot with you." West, never one to back down, continued to defend his behavior on Beats 1's Zane Lowe on Apple Music. "There are other married men that I know are happy to hear me say that," he said.
Even after their divorce, West continued to comment on Kardashian's sexuality by insulting how she promoted her company. He told Tucker Carlson, "I felt like there's a lot of imagery that was overly sexualized and things that I wouldn't want to see my wife... doing in the future in order to sell product."
Kanye West limited Kim Kardashian's phone time
Kanye "Ye" West apparently laid down the law about cell phone use, too. "When we first started dating it was rude to bring our phones with us out, so I learned from him to not really bring my phone," Kim Kardashian explained to Paper. The reality star went on to divulge that the rapper also banned photos when they were dining. "We have rules at the table," she said. "If we are eating at a restaurant, we'll wait to do (take pictures) when we are done eating."
West and Kardashian seemingly applied his no phones rule to their 2014 wedding, considering that they prohibited guests from bringing their devices. While a lot of celebrities have done this for privacy, Kardashian revealed they didn't want phones there because they wanted their guests to stay fully present. Staying present apparently is a common theme: A source once told Radar he did not like when Kardashian texted during his shows since that meant her eyes were off the stage and she wasn't locked in enough.
The mother of four may have seen the value in some of those phone rules though because of her children. According to People, while Kardashian was at Beautycon 2018, she shared that she thinks it's important to not accept work calls when she's having dinner with them. She also said, "There should be cell-phone hours. You should never sleep by your phone."
Kanye West made the reality star more private
It may be hard to believe, but Kanye "Ye" West wanted Kim Kardashian to achieve a more private life. The former "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star shared on "The Alec Baldwin Show" that he even changed how she went about fame, which she used to really hustle for. She dished, "We would get our hair and makeup done after we filmed the show. Then it was like...'what is the hottest restaurant in Hollywood? Where can I go? Where can I be seen?" While some may think it was her 2016 armed robbery that led her to want more privacy, Kardashian revealed, "It started with Kanye." She continued, "His work life is very public, but then when he was off, he was very private."
When the former couple was seen out though, West had boundaries for how Kardashian could interact with fans. She explained in a blog post (via E! News), "I used to get up, take pics and sign an autograph in the middle of our meal. Now, I know that this time is our private time." However, she made it a point to add, "It's not that he won't let me sign autographs for my fans."
Whether West actually "let" her do things or not, it seemed that he had wanted her to keep some things sacred which doesn't sound so bad. However, he ironically then became the one who often violated his family's privacy during his various social media and public rants
Kanye West may have shaped her friend group
A few years after Kim Kardashian linked up with Kanye "Ye" West, her longtime stylist/friend Monica Rose was suddenly out of the picture. Kardashian had not only stopped working with her but even unfollowed her on social media. While there was obviously drama, Kardashian would only say on "Watch What Happens Live," "Kanye got me a new team and we kind of documented it ... I just needed a new vibe." She also noted that she and her siblings iced Rose out for a totally different reason.
Kardashian went on cut ties with another close pal, Larsa Pippen, who didn't go as quietly and hinted it was West who was to blame. She told the "Hollywood Raw" podcast, "I just feel like Kanye was in a place where he, you know, he really didn't trust anyone with Kim." She continued, "I was the person that was like, 'Oh, like, don't be so close to her' ... that kind of had something to do with it." In a subsequent Us Weekly interview, Pippen shared that she and Kardashian had since made amends.
Then there was the time West publicly shamed his then-wife for having a business lunch with rapper Meek Mill in 2018, tweeting (then deleting) per the Daily Mail, "I've been trying to get divorced since Kim met with Meek at the Warldolf for 'prison reform,'" adding, "Kim was out of line." Evidently, the meeting did not get West's stamp of approval.
Kim Kardashian couldn't date in peace
Kanye "Ye" West has tried to stay in Kim Kardashian's ear even after their split. For example, West stormed out of "SNL" while Kardashian was hosting after he had problems with her opening monologue. She revealed on an episode of "The Kardashians," per ET, "He's upset at the fact that I said 'the reason I divorced him' — used the word divorced.” She added, "And he's upset that I also used the word 'rapper.' He said, 'I'm so much more than a rapper."
West also regularly took shots at Kardashian's relationship with her former boyfriend, Pete Davidson, by not only frequently threatening him on social media and in songs, but also by keeping him away from their four kids. According to TMZ, West even wrote on Instagram, "NO YOU WILL NEVER MEET MY CHILDREN." West's behavior apparently got to such a point that Kardashian decided to call him out for it in a statement. She wrote, per Page Six, "Kanye's obsession with trying to control and manipulate our situation so negatively and publicly is only causing further pain for all."
While divorce can be a sad thing, in this instance it may be for the best. And hopefully Kardashian will only be living by her own rules from now on.