Kim Kardashian says she spent years after the end of her marriage to Ye giving herself time to heal before she felt ready to open up to another relationship.
“I wanted to completely heal and just work on myself. I wasn’t ready to open up. I really wasn’t even thinking about it,” Kardashian told The Times in a new interview. “The universe works in your favor when you just allow it to.”
The comments come with Kardashian now publicly dating Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, although she did not connect every part of that earlier period directly to him or describe how their friendship became romantic.
Kardashian filed for divorce from Ye in February 2021, with the divorce finalized in 2022. They share four children, North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm.
Kardashian Says Being Single ‘Felt Great’
“I was really single for five years,” Kardashian told The Times. She said the time gave her freedom to concentrate on her children and choose the professional projects she actually wanted to pursue rather than feeling pressure to find another partner.
“And that felt great. I could focus on my kids and projects that I really wanted to be involved with,” she said. “I really felt no rush. Like, I really didn’t feel empty. I felt like I needed my time.”
Those years included major changes in Kardashian’s work as she continued expanding Skims, moved further into acting with Ryan Murphy’s All’s Fair and pursued her legal studies. The Times interview also finds her discussing parenthood, business and the greater confidence she says she has developed in her 40s.
Her ‘Five Years’ Included Nine Months With Pete Davidson
Kardashian began dating Pete Davidson after hosting Saturday Night Live in October 2021, where the two kissed during an Aladdin-themed sketch. Their relationship lasted about nine months before they split in August 2022.
The relationship lasted about nine months before they split in August 2022. The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that distance and demanding work schedules had made the relationship difficult to maintain.
Kardashian’s new comments describe the broader stretch after her marriage rather than a precise month-by-month dating record. She spent most of that period without a publicly established long-term partner before Hamilton became part of her life in a different way in 2026.
Kardashian Put Hamilton Directly on Her Own Instagram in June
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Hamilton had already made the couple Instagram official on April 6, when he posted video of Kardashian riding beside him in his Ferrari F40 at Tokyo’s Daikoku Parking Area. Kardashian could be heard saying, “That’s insane,” as Hamilton performed donuts in the car. PEOPLE identified the Reel as their Instagram debut as a couple.
Kardashian put Hamilton directly into her own feed on June 1 with a carousel simply captioned “lately.” A photograph and video showed them riding bicycles together in New York, including a clip in which Kardashian nearly drifted into Hamilton’s path while trying to pose for the camera.
Harper’s Bazaar described the post as Kardashian’s own social-media hard launch. By then, the longtime friends had already been photographed together at several events and during trips earlier in the year.
Hamilton Shared More of Their Relationship From a July Lake Trip
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Hamilton gave followers another look at the relationship on July 16 with photographs from a lakeside getaway. His carousel showed the couple together on a boat and included Kardashian’s children Chicago and Psalm in a sunset group photograph.
“Hold your people close,” Hamilton wrote in the caption. Kardashian responded with a red heart, while Us Weekly reported that the post offered some of the clearest photographs of the couple together up to that point.
Kardashian still declined to turn her new Times profile into a detailed discussion of Hamilton. Asked directly about the relationship, she answered, “In the most respectful way, I’d probably rather not.”