When you sign up to date Kim Kardashian, you’re signing up to date everything that comes with it.
Pete Davidson knew that, and he was willing to pay the price — for nine months, at least.
Sparks flew when she hosted Saturday Night Live back in October of 2021. When they kissed during that Aladdin sketch, everyone at home could feel it.
That chemistry would ultimately cook into an actual relationship. Later that month they went to Knott’s Berry Farm in SoCal together, and by December of the same year, things were going so well Pete started getting tattoos about her.
Unfortunately, the love wouldn’t — or couldn’t — withstand all the scrutiny that came with it.
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When it comes up during his new Variety interview, he jokes he’s “one of the survivors — the few and the proud,” comparing himself and others who’ve dated the KarJenner women to Marines.
He’s not faulting them. If anything, he admires what they’re capable of enduring, explaining:
“Look, man, that’s a really tough atmosphere if you’re not game. One of the things I love about Kim and that whole family is they’re like, ‘This is what we do.’ I found that very attractive and mature.”
He also makes sure to note that even though it was a challenging experience — the constant paparazzi, etc. — he never felt pressured to do anything he didn’t want to do:
“And I was never subjected to anything I didn’t want to be a part of. She was super respectful of all of it, but the craze of that lifestyle — being followed everywhere, having security and looking over your shoulder — for a guy with mental stuff, and at the time drug problems, was a little too much for me. But we’re cool, and I have a lot of love for her, and I knew what I was getting into.”
Pete was in a more unique situation than anyone else she’s dated though. It wasn’t just the paparazzi and packed schedules he had to endure. He had to face Kanye West too, who was desperately trying to win Kim back before their divorce was finalized.
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In storms of jealousy, Ye would call Pete “Skete” in online rants, insult his appearance, publish private text messages, share mocking memes, and eventually he even made a music video that graphically depicted a claymation version of Ye kidnapping, tying up, and burying a claymation version of Pete.
Pete says of the whole ordeal:
“What tripped me out is I was super open about mental stuff — everyone knows this about me — and it’s like he was [saying], ‘Kill yourself.’ And he did push me.”
Looking back, he frames it as him at least being able to pave the way for Kim to date again at all, explaining:
“I like to think I got that one out of the way for her because whoever that guy was going to be [the guy she dated first after splitting from Kanye] was gonna get it. I cleared the path for her to get back into the dating pool.”
Kim is now in a healthy relationship with Lewis Hamilton. Ye is married to Bianca Censori. And Pete is a proud dad.
Opening up about his love for his daughter Scottie Rose, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Elsie Hewitt, Pete says he knows where his priorities stand now:
“Scottie is my whole life. I was living or dying on this business and what I thought people thought of me. It was all validation and ‘If I do this, then I’ll do that.’ But as soon as I saw her for the first time, I was like, ‘Oh my God, none of this f**kin’ matters at all. It’s a job. If I get to do cool stuff, great; if not, cool, I get to be home more with my kid.’”
He continued:
“[Being a dad is] filling a lot of emptiness. If you think the internet’s sick of Pete Davidson, I’m sick of it. I’m exhausted from being me all the time. That it’s all about her first is the best gift ever. It’s an indescribable feeling. It’s the best, man. I’m excited to get up every day.”
For the record, Pete, we could never get sick of you. We’re rooting for you, sincerely!!
Pete’s upcoming projects include How To Rob A Bank, out in theaters November 13, and Tommy Karate, expected fall 2027.
For resources on mental health, visit https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help.
[Image via Peacock/YouTube/Kim Kardashian/Instagram.]