Kris Humphries Opens Up About Marriage To Kim Kardashian, Says It Wasn't Fake

Kris Humphries & Kim Kardashian West - Keeping Up With the Kardashians

Before there was Kanye and Kim, there was Kim and Kris. Between 2011 and 2013, Kim Kardashian West was married to former professional basketball player Kris Humphries, who played with the Atlanta Hawks and several other teams during his tenure on the court. And compared to Kim's current husband, Humphries doesn't keep himself in the public eye quite as often. The details of his short-lived marriage weren't as well-known from his perspective. But now they've each moved on by now, Kris Humphries feels comfortable coming forward with his side of the story.

Look, I should have known what I was getting into. I was definitely naive about how much my life was going to change. But the one thing that really bothers me is whenever people say that my marriage was fake. There’s definitely a lot about that world that is not entirely real. But our actual relationship was 100 percent real. When it was clear that it wasn’t working … what can I say? It sucked.

In the article Kris Humphries penned for The Players' Tribute, the basketball player discussed his short-lived marriage to Kim Kardashian West, which wasn't necessarily a secret given that it was covered on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. But the professional athlete wanted to address criticisms made against him saying that his marriage was fraudulent and only for show. Humphries claims that, while it wasn't ultimately a successful marriage, it was a real one. And while it "sucks" that it didn't ultimately work out for the couple, Kris Humphries claims it wasn't fake.

I didn’t want to leave my home. You feel like … I don’t know … the whole world hates you, but they don’t even know why. They don’t even know you at all. They just recognize your face, and they’re on you.

While the autobiographical article was meant to discuss Kris Humphries' career and his announcement that he was retiring from the NBA, it was ultimately his introspective and clarifying comments about his high-profile marriage to Kim Kardashian West that got the most notice. The basketball player admits that, away from his accomplishments as an athlete, he's often known and semi-recognized in the public eye as "That Guy" or, more explicitly, "That Fucking Guy" due to his previous marriage to Kim Kardashian. And while that's "brutal," Humphries has learned to work past these insecurities and hopefully move on as best as he can.

Kris Humphries admits that he should've known what he was getting into when he got into such a media-friendly marriage with a major celebrity, but he wasn't thinking about the bigger picture stuff at the time since he was young and "naive." But the public nature of their relationship did hinder his life after he signed the divorce papers, and Humphries claims he wasn't able to live out his life in a normal fashion for a span of time due to the high profile nature of this relationship.

Now that Kim Kardashian West is married with children with Kanye West, who is often getting into his own controversies at a regular clip, Kris Humphries doesn't need to be known as simply the ex-husband of Kim Kardashian West. And while he will be known by that distinction by a few people in the public eye, he took this moment to also reflect upon his professional accomplishments as he called it quits on the basketball court. It can be hard to say goodbye, but in the process of reflecting back on his life and career, Humphries felt it was important to provide his perspective on what might arguably be the most famous chapter of his life.

Will Ashton

Will is an entertainment writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. His writing can also be found in The Playlist, Cut Print Film, We Got This Covered, The Young Folks, Slate and other outlets. He also co-hosts the weekly film/TV podcast Cinemaholics with Jon Negroni and he likes to think he's a professional Garfield enthusiast.