Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West have gotten to a “pretty good place” when it comes to the ups and downs of his bipolar disorder diagnosis, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star revealed in the May cover story for Vogue.
“It is an emotional process, for sure,” the 38-year-old reality personality explained. “Right now everything is really calm. But we can definitely feel episodes coming, and we know how to handle them.”
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West’s mental health has long been a topic of speculation since he was hospitalized for a “psychiatric emergency” in November 2016, canceling his Saint Pablo tour, but the rapper appeared to confirm he had been diagnosed with bipolar with the release of his album Ye, the album art for which included the phrase “I Hate Being Bipolar. It’s Awesome.”
Later, he explained in a radio interview with Big Boy that he had been diagnosed at 39, adding, “But like I said on the album, it’s not a disability, it’s a superpower.”
In October 2018, amid his public support of President Donald Trump, West claimed he had been misdiagnosed, and was simply experiencing sleep deprivation, but Kardashian told Vogue he has since come to peace with the fact that he does have bipolar disorder.
Despite coming to that realization, Kardashian told the magazine he is not treating his condition with any medication.
“For him, being on medication is not really an option, because it just changes who he is,” she explained. “Traveling a lot does set it off, so he doesn’t travel as much as he used to.”
Amid West’s more controversial actions, Kardashian remained stolid behind her husband, but she revealed that didn’t mean she wasn’t upset behind the scenes.
“I think some of the hurtful things that I read online: ‘What is she doing? She’s not stopping him…’ Like it’s my fault if he does or says something that they don’t agree with? That’s my husband. I share every opinion that I have and let him know when I think something’s wrong,” she said. “Or if it comes to him being in the middle of a bipolar episode, I’ll do everything to be supportive and help to calm the situation.”
The KKW Beauty mogul added of West’s decision to wear a Make America Great Again hat in support of Trump publicly, such as on Saturday Night Live, “I can be sitting there crying: OH, MY GOD! TAKE OFF THE RED HAT! Because he really is the sweetest person with the biggest heart. I stopped caring, though. Because I used to care so much. I was making it such an issue in our relationship. And in my life. It gave me so much anxiety.”
Keeping Up With the Kardashians airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on E!
Photo credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
