Why Kim And Kanye’s Alleged Divorce Is A Huge Pop Culture Moment

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are apparently calling it quits.   

After nearly seven years of marriage and four children, the pair are allegedly separating and heading towards a divorce.  

By the way I get it, celebrity news stories aren’t for everyone but as far as celebrity stories go, this one is pretty massive.  

Kim and Kanye have become one of the defining famous couples of the past decade and regardless of what you might think of them, they’ve had a huge cultural impact together.  

So what do we need to know about this divorce, and why was their marriage so interesting to begin with?  

News Of The Rumoured Divorce Is Sad

There’ve been a lot of indications that Kim and Kanye’s marriage has been on the rocks for a while now.  

They’ve been spending increasing amounts of time apart and there’s been a lot of speculation about those family Halloween photos where Kanye was supposedly inside costumes. 

Even for the most casual observers, there’s been some pretty obvious stress on their partnership over the past couple of years.  

Ashley Spencer: “There was the run for president, there were those comments about slavery being a choice, there was very erratic behaviour that I think does stem from his mental health struggles. But for Kim in the public eye, all of that playing out would put a strain on any marriage.” 

That’s Ashley Spencer, she’s an entertainment reporter who’s been following Kim and Kanye’s story for a long time.  

For a lot of fans the news of their separation is actually quite sad, especially considering that there did actually seem to be a lot of genuine affection between them.   

AS: “Kanye pined after Kim for years. He would openly declare his love in music. She was married to Kris Humphries … They knew each other and they were close, so I do think they had developed a bond on a deeper level than maybe what you would expect from two people of their ilk.” 

Despite Kim’s controversial reality TV background, Kanye always really praised her and helped to build her credibility.  

And in turn, Kim publicly defended Kanye as a “brilliant but complicated person” after he published a pretty jarring series of Tweets about their family.  

The Cultural Significance Of Kardashian West

So, what really was the cultural significance of their marriage?  

Well for a start, there was a lot of mutual benefit to their partnership in terms of how they helped each other’s status.  

Kanye really elevated Kim Kardashian’s career and made her the icon she is today, and it seems as though Kim helped to straighten out Kanye’s career – he went from being 53 million US dollars in debt to climbing the Forbes billionaire list.  

But you can read into their marriage a bit more than that.  

One media researcher called the couple an “American phenomenon” and said that the Kardashian West marriage basically became a vehicle for a bunch of important conversations around “race, gender, political affiliations, class, religion and mental health“. 

What Will Happen To Kimye Now?  

Well, the couple’s breakup really represents a new era for Kim, especially in terms of how she wants to use all her power and money.  

AS: “She wants to be seen as a contributing member of society, not just a pinup, not just a tabloid figure … The fame was always there, and I think she now has more of the credibility to do with it what she wants.” 

The Takeaway 

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s marriage has been a celebrity news focus for a really long time, and their divorce will be a huge pop culture moment if it happens. 

Despite how they helped propel each other’s careers, the marriage was far from a publicity stunt and it’s actually pretty sad to see a family unit like theirs collapse in this way.