Kendra Wilkinson Credits Her Children With Saving Her Life After Reality TV Exit
Kendra Wilkinson has shared her life on television since she was a Playboy bunny and barely drinking age. She appeared on the E! reality series Girls Next Door before getting her own spinoff focusing on her marriage and family, Kendra On Top. Since her divorce, she's focused on single motherhood and carving out a new career path in real estate and is now chronicling her journey on the Discovery+ series Kendra Sells Hollywood – the latter of which is in its second season. Living her life in the public eye has its pros and cons as she's able to continuously expand her platform with varying business opportunities. But the cons can sometimes seem defining, such as a cheating scandal courtesy of her ex-husband, Hank Baskett, and a divorce a few years later. She took a hiatus from filming in order to regroup. And she says her children were her saving grace during her darkest period.
After losing her show, the 38-year-old says she found it hard to see the positive. She opened up about it while appearing on Melissa Gorga's On Display podcast. "It was impossible to be happy at that point," Wilkinson said. "I didn't even know how to be happy. My kids were what gave me the purpose."
She says her kids – Hank Baskett, 12; and Alijah, 9 – kept her motivated. "[They gave me the] stay alive, to keep going, to drive them to hockey and basketball and smile and watch them do everything. They're the ones who kept my heart beating," she explained. Her divorce from Baskett was finalized in 2019. They agreed to split joint legal and physical custody of their two children.
"[I felt] like a zombie [struggling to figure out my next move]" and "what I was going to do for a living." Luckily, she landed on her feet and fell in love with real estate, though the road to selling her first home was not an easy one.
Now, viewers see her on the other side of the road, and she says her kids deserve the praise. "I couldn't have asked for better kids. I mean, when it comes to parenting and when it comes to my bonding with them, so sacred and so powerful," she said. "If there's one part of my life I'm doing right, it's them."