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Lamar Odom and Khloé Kardashian have always said that they don’t regret their star-studded wedding or the marriage that followed. The pair exchanged vows in Sept. 2009 after 30 days of meeting each other. In the NBA star’s 2019 memoir, Darkness To Light, he shared another reason why the quickie nuptials happened. 

Lamar Odom in a black shirt and grey tie and Khloé Kardashian in a black dress smiling while having dinner.
Lamar Odom and Khloé Kardashian | Vivien Killilea/WireImage

Lamar Odom and Khloé Kardashian ‘scarcely left each other’s side’ during their courtship

Odom and Kardashian met for the first time in 2009. At the time, Odom was 30 and had two living children with his high school sweetheart, Liza Morales. Once they split up, the athlete secretly dated actor Taraji P. Henson. However, Odom ended the relationship after he saw Kardashian at a Los Angeles party. Following their meeting, the pair went to the former Lakers star’s hotel room. In Darkness To Light, Odom said the Good American CEO refused to sleep with him on their first encounter, which caught his attention. 

Soon, Kardashian and Odom started dating. Although they were both famous and traveled often, they were joined at the hip during their first 30 days together. 

“Things picked up steam in an unexpected hurry,” Odom writes. “The way our emotions, lust, spirit, and love intertwined and connected us is something I just couldn’t have predicted. For the next thirty days, we scarcely left one another’s side. If we did, we were texting or calling and making plans for the next time we would meet.” 

Lamar Odom said his drug addiction increased at the time of his wedding to Khloé Kardashian 

In Darkness To Light, Odom shared more details about his crack/cocaine addiction. As a child, the athlete experimented with alcohol and marijuana. However, his fame increased while he played for the Lakers alongside Kobe Bryant. Additionally, Odom said he became more dependent on the “hard drugs” he took. 

Although he loved Kardashian, the author noted that their wedding happened when Odom’s addiction affected his day-to-day life. 

“In September 2009, Khloé and I got married,” says Odom. “We had only been dating a month, but we both knew it was right. This was also around the time I dived even deeper into hard drugs, and my immediate group of friends had begun to go off in their own directions.” 

How the marriage between Khloé and Lamar affected his other relationships

Once Kardashian and Odom were married, they became one of the biggest couples in Hollywood. Soon, the couple started working on their KUWTK spinoff, Khloé and Lamar. Additionally, Odom continued to travel with the Lakers and won the acclaimed “Man of the Year” award the same year he married Kardashian. 

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Despite being famous through basketball and reality TV, Odom admittedly prioritized Kardashian and her family over his other loved ones. In his book, the Rich Soil CEO said that his marriage caused him not to visit his children or close friends. 

“I overlooked and disregarded a lot of friendships when I fell in love with Khloé,” Odom claims. “My head was spinning, but that wasn’t an excuse to separate myself from my friends. A lot of times, this is what happens when you get married. Your world becomes smaller.” 

Kardashian and Odom divorced in 2016 after seven years of marriage. 

How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.

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