The Kardashians viewers have already heard about Kris Jenner’s greatest regret.
But she’s not the only — or the most egregious — cheater in the family.
That title belongs to the reigning champion, Tristan Thompson. His betrayals of Khloe went well beyond ordinary cheating.
Kourtney cannot stand to be in the room with the man who put her sister through hell. And neither can her daughter, Penelope.
On this week’s episode of The Kardashians, Khloe Kardashian called her eldest sister, Kourtney.
Kourt lounged on the most eye-catching (yet with its practicality undetermined) piece of modular furniture, the size of some small living rooms.
When Khloe mentioned that she and niece Dream Kardashian would be stopping by, she mentioned that Tristan was with them, too.
Kourtney then asked her daughter, Penelope, if she would still feel up for going out with family if Tristan was there.
From off-camera, Penelope replied: “Yeah, I’m fine.” She’s a very easy-going child, clearly.
Penelope is currently 11 years old. She would have been 10 (but just a few months shy of 11) when this episode filmed.
Having broached the awkward topic of Tristan, this left Kourtney alone in this colossal space to explain the situation to producers.
At first, she began to say that she doesn’t “know why” she, personally, reacts in sucha strong, negative way to Tristan.
But she does. And production reminded her of that.
“I feel like she gets it from me,” Kourt said of Penelope’s discomfort around Tristan. “I told her the first day of school, I was so triggered by him.”
Just a head’s up — Kourtney says “triggered” a bunch of times. It’s unclear if she is using the term accurately, to refer to something like trauma or OCD or something like that. She might simply be using the word to say “mad” or “upset.” (Helpfully, those are already words that exist, so you don’t need to misuse “triggered”)
“I feel like we all brush it off and are fine,” she admitted. “And then I was just so triggered and I was like, ‘I just can’t do it anymore.’”
“Tristan has made horrible decisions and choices with my sister,” Kourtney then royally understated.
“There’s times when I’m so triggered by him I can’t be around him,” she said.
“And then there’s times when I just let it go because we just want harmony,” Kourt explained. She continued: And, you know, he’s the father of my niece and nephew.”
Sure enough, Kourtney and Dream Kardashian arrived. Tristan was there, too, looking incredibly shirtless as he towered over everyone.
He walked over and gave Kourtney a side hug. She grudgingly accepted it, but did her best to keep him from mashing her face into his tattooed tiddy.
Viewers recoiled in discomfort from the display. Kourt and Penelope quickly busied themselves ignoring Tristan as much as possible.
However, Kourtney did end up graciously offering Tristan a tour of this sprawling house.
Noting that it was Good Friday and perhaps feeling that her personal religious beliefs prompt her to give people more leniency than they deserve, she acked as if everything were fine.
Couldn’t be me. Not after, at this point, five whole years since Tristan’s first (but not last) cheating scandal.
Significantly, Khloe doesn’t object to Kourtney giving Tristan the cold shoulder.
If anything, she feels even more strongly in favor of Penelope’s resentment.
(At least, that’s what she says in the confessional, and who am I to argue with a woman whose hair looks that good?)
Khloe emphatically says that she is in a good place with Tristan.
No, they’re not together. We all hope that this remains true for the rest of their lives.
But they get along as co-parents, as friends, and as neighbors. It’s awkward, but better than being enemies.
But Khloe stressed that she does not expect other members of her family to share her feelings about Tristan.
Or to get along as well with him as she does.
That doesn’t seem to have always been the case. After all, Khloe has leaned heavily upon their family’s infamous solidarity over the past several years. But now? She’s cool with it.
In fact, Khloe added that she finds it encouraging that Penelope, at only 10 years old, had such a strong sense of right and wrong.
There are families that force kids to spend time around toxic relatives whom they despise. This is unhealthy (and sometimes dangerous). It’s good that Kourtney gave her a choice.
Penelope and Kourt are right. Tristan sucks. He’s not evil, but his behavior is not that of a good dude.