Some breakups trend for weeks. Others stay in the headlines for years. And then there are the ones that linger so long, they become part of someone else’s public identity. That’s where Tristan Thompson lives in the Khloé Kardashian universe. But here’s the twist: on the latest episode of her podcast Khloé in Wonderland, Khloé dropped a bomb that not only shifted the narrative, but it pulled Lamar Odom back into the spotlight, too.

When asked about when she felt the strongest, Kardashian didn’t rush to name a single moment. Instead, she painted a bigger picture—one shaped by pain, love, and very public heartbreak. And yes, Tristan’s betrayal was a huge part of it. But surprisingly, Khloé credited her past with ex-husband Lamar Odom for helping her get through it.

“That was sort of a stepping stone, if you will, for the next big traumatic thing that happened to me, [which] was when Tristan cheated on me right before I gave birth,” she said. Her voice steady, her message clear: trauma builds strength. Even if that trauma comes from the most headline-grabbing relationships in modern pop culture history.

She added, “Obviously no one can prepare you for something like that. And it wasn’t the cheating that’s like, ‘Ugh.’ People get cheated on. It’s more that I was nine months pregnant — I was having a baby two days later — and it was so public… With me and my ex-husband… it was so public. So public that I’d never dealt with something like that before. But I dealt with it.” It was a full-circle moment.

The world watched her marry Lamar in 2009, just weeks after meeting him. They watched the marriage crumble amid infidelity and substance abuse allegations. They watched her stand by him during his near-fatal overdose. And when she eventually began dating Tristan, it seemed like a fresh chapter. A cleaner slate. Except… it wasn’t.

People have always had powerful feelings about Tristan Thompson’s basketball career, both good and bad. Thompson was a key guy on the Cavs’ 2016 championship team, known for rebounding and his toughness. But off the court? His resume reads like a cautionary tale for NBA drama.

The Tristan-trauma, rebounds, and reputation

Despite averaging 8.3 points and 7.8 rebounds over his 13-year NBA career, it’s the tabloids that often eclipse his stat lines. The cheating scandals, headlines, and chaos. And while some of it overlaps with typical celebrity rep, it’s fair to say Thompson’s name has become shorthand for public relationship drama, especially in the Kardashian orbit.

Lamar Odom, for all his faults and failings, is now framed as the foundation of resilience, not the source of her undoing. And Tristan? Well, he becomes the storm she weathered. Ironically so, both men share a Lakers connection. Lamar, a beloved Sixth Man of the Year and two-time champion with Kobe Bryant. Tristan, a mid-season pickup who appeared in limited playoff minutes but never carved out a proper role. It’s an almost poetic symmetry: one man defined by his game, the other by everything but. Interesting, isn’t it?

What’s next for Tristan Thompson on the basketball side? That remains to be seen. He’s bounced around the league in recent years, with his reputation doing more of the heavy lifting than his production. But in the public eye, he’ll likely always be tied to one of pop culture’s most emotionally raw betrayals. And as for Khloé?

She’s done waiting for peace and is building it herself. One memory at a time. One revelation at a time. And in the most pop-culture way, one podcast at a time. Turns out, healing sometimes sounds like honesty. And sometimes, that honesty names names.