Shortly after reports emerged yesterday that Khloe Kardashian, 33, was close to giving birth to her first child, far more crushing news broke: her partner, and the father of her baby, had allegedly been caught cheating on her.
Three videos were published, the first two apparently filmed on Saturday night. In one, the 27-year-old Cleveland Cavaliers basketballer is reportedly seen talking closely to a woman at a New York City club before leaning in for a kiss. The next video is claimed to show Tristan later that night, with the same woman, walking to a hotel. She has since been named as Instagram model Lani Blair.
That very night, Khloe was reportedly at home in Cleveland, Ohio, just days away from going into labour.
Then, a third video was released. This time, filmed at a bar near Washington in October when Khloe was three months pregnant. The video appears to show Tristan with two women, kissing one of them and putting his head to the other’s chest as she puts her hand to his crotch.
A source told People magazine that reports of Tristan’s cheating on Khloe were a “long time coming”.
“He’s a serial cheater. And there will be more women to come out of the woodwork,” they said.
The timing of these reports is devastating for Khloe. A moment that should be her happiest has been tainted by rumours of the most salacious kind.
And in normal circumstances, the public would be expressing nothing but heartache for her. But there’s a problem: Tristan’s uncomfortable past.
You see, if the reports are true, this is not new behaviour for Tristan.
Almost as soon as soon as the cheating headlines spread, the name of Tristan’s ex-girlfriend, Jordan Craig, sprung up.
Popular sayings were thrown around. “If they cheat with you, they’ll cheat on you.” “Once a cheater, always a cheater.”
Tristan Thompson left his PREGNANT fiancé Jordan Craig for Khloe Kardashian. Now Tristan was recently caught cheating on Khloe while she is far along her pregnancy. Once a cheater, always a cheater…
— Sky???? (@honey_skysky) April 11, 2018
Tristan Thompson cheating on Khloe Kardashian when she’s ready to give birth to their child any moment proves no matter what girl a man got a home and their situation if he wants to cheat he’ll cheat#shameful
— laura dixon (@laura_dixonxo) April 10, 2018
tristan thompson gotta have a thing for impregnating women and cheating on them right before they give birth
— Tyrones Settlement Check (@_MadameBee) April 10, 2018
Tristan Thompson: “How pregnant are you?”
Khloe: “9 months.”
Tristan: “It’s about that time.”
Khloe: “What do you mea-“
Tristan: pic.twitter.com/5qiaSpMAMz
— X (@XLNB) April 11, 2018
Tristan Thompson, who cheated on his then pregnant girlfriend for Khloe Kardashian, was now caught cheating on a pregnant Khloe in the club this past weekend?! The video is very suspect… pic.twitter.com/v2n3MesIeW
— ????????L E A???????? (@_MissLeandra) April 10, 2018
And that’s because the reports are reminiscent of those that swirled in 2016.
So let’s go back to how things unfolded.
Tristan and Khloe announced they were dating in September of that year. It was reported they met about a month earlier at Kevin Hart’s wedding, with Tristan rumoured to have shown up with his then long-term girlfriend, Jordan.
At the time, Jordan - a lifestyle blogger - was about five months pregnant.
The circumstances of the break-up between Tristan and Jordan were unclear, and unusually for a high-profile athlete, not even details of them splitting surfaced. So fans were left to do the maths. Accusations swelled that Tristan had, if not cheated on his pregnant girlfriend, dumped her for the youngest Kardashian sister. Or, at the very best? He'd moved on very, very quickly.
Within the space of 16 months, Tristan will be father to two children conceived with two different long-term partners.
Jordan gave birth to his son, named Prince Oliver, on December 12, 2016. Eight days after the boy's first birthday, Khloe announced her own pregnancy with Tristan.
Jordan has never been mentioned publicly by any Kardashian nor by Tristan.
It's important to stress that - as with a lot of celebrity stories - many of these reports are based on rumour and observation.
Tristan is now wedged inside the Kardashian machine, where it is near impossible to work out what is fact and what is fiction. Everything we experience with this family is through a carefully curated stream of content, designed to attract positive attention and make money - not to deliver us hard truths.
It is likely we will never know exactly how tangled Tristan's cross-over from Jordan to Khloe was. It's easier to ignore cheating rumours than allow them to become a solid part of your narrative.
But what we know for certain is that the entire situation was mucky from the start, and today, it became even more so. And there is one man at the centre of it all.
For the first time, even Jordan appears to have addressed Khloe and Tristan's relationship. She posted on her Instagram only hours after it was reported Tristan cheated on his pregnant partner.
Is this a case of history repeating itself? The fans certainly seem to think so.
And if that's the case, it says a lot more about Tristan than it does about Jordan or Khloe.
What do you think of the rumours about Tristan Thompson's actions? Tell us in the comments below.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated the wrong date of Khloe Kardashian's pregnancy announcement.
LISTEN: Mamamia Out Loud discusses the convenient timing of all the Kardashian pregnancy rumours.