Netflix’s documentary about Lamar Odom‘s near-fatal overdose featured a candid interview from ex-wife Khloé Kardashian about his “monstrous” drug use, his infidelity and their divorce.
Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom, which premiered on Tuesday, March 31, follows Odom’s life leading up to his marriage to Kardashian, 41. After their nuptials, Kardashian found out about Odom’s substance abuse issues, which eventually led him to have six heart attacks and 12 strokes.
Odom, 46, and Kardashian dated for one month before getting engaged in 2009. They got married later that year, and Kardashian filed for divorce four years later. Kardashian later postponed her court motion after Odom was left comatose following an overdose at a legal brothel in Nevada.
After Odom regained his health, Kardashian filed for divorce for a second time. They have since reunited to address their past on Hulu’s The Kardashians and Netflix’s Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom.
Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations about Odom and Kardashian’s relationship in Netflix’s tell-all doc:
Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian’s 1st Meeting
Lamar Odom’s former teammate Metta World Peace (a.k.a.Ron Artest) recalled planning a party in Los Angeles where he paid Khloé Kardashian $5,000 to make an appearance. Kardashian, meanwhile, said she accepted the gig because of her brother, Robert Kardashian, but the event led to her meeting Odom.
“Prior to this party, I did not know who Lamar was. I remember he had a plastic bag and I was like, ‘What’s in your bag?’ And he’s like, ‘Candy.’ I told him, ‘You’re such a liar. You probably have condoms in that bag,’” she said. “I remember he poured it out and it was all candy — and only candy. I felt so stupid.”
Odom had a different recollection of the meeting, saying, “The first night, I was trying to f*** her the first night. But she said, ‘It ain’t that type of party.’ We got together the next day, then the next day, then the next day and then the next day.”
Lamar Odom’s Interest in Reality TV
According to Khloé Kardashian, Lamar Odom had an interest in joining reality TV, saying, “He loves the camera. I remember I had a photo shoot and I remember saying, ‘We can hang out for a little bit, but then you have to leave because the camera crew is coming. We’re going to film later.’ He was like, ‘Why do I have to leave?’”
Kardashian claimed Odom was the one who wanted their spinoff show, Khloé & Lamar.
“It was led very much by Lamar,” she explained. “I was spread really thin. I also didn’t really want it to jeopardize the family brand, which was Keeping Up at the time. I thought there were so many Kardashian shows. I [also] reminded him about his main career: the Los Angeles Lakers.”
Lamar Odom’s Drug Use
While discussing his substance abuse issues, Lamar Odom recalled his “first hit of cocaine” with a woman and her husband. Khloé Kardashian, meanwhile, didn’t understand how serious Odom’s addiction was at first.
“At the beginning, it was a recreational thing. As silly as this sounds, it seemed responsibly done. It was two years in[to our marriage] when he disappeared. I really thought maybe something happened to him,” she said. “I remember calling anyone and everyone while trying to find him.”
Kardashian continued: “He did come home, and I don’t want to say he blamed a lot [on this], but his reasoning for why this happened was because of [his infant son] Jayden’s passing. That was the first time I was like, ‘OK, this is something I’ve never experienced. This is a dark situation and I don’t know what to do.’”
When Lamar Odom Started to Cheat on Khloé Kardashian
Lamar Odom said that Khloé Kardashian first learned of his infidelity when she was contacted by a woman he’d been seeing.
“One night I [was] going to Big Bear, California, and I’m getting high out of my f***ing mind. The girl that I was with at the time, she must have been so blown back by it that she must have took my phone and contacted my wife,” Odom told producers.
Khloé Kardashian had a similar recollection of events, saying, “Out of the blue, I get this call and she said, ‘Hi, I’ve been f***ing your husband. He is so f***ed up and he just keeps wanting money and drugs and I gotta get off this ride. So will you come and pick him up?’”
Kardashian said she had “suspicions” but “never had anything tangible” to prove Odom was unfaithful.
The Moment Lamar Odom’s Addiction Got Worse
Khloé Kardashian recalled Lamar Odom’s drug use becoming more frequent during the later years of their marriage.
“The drug buildup was getting worse and worse. There were many times Lamar would go for 12 hours or two days and escape rehab. He would go on a drug bender and no one could find him,” she said. “I was either looking for him in alleys or looking for him in motels. He would have tinfoil cutouts or spoons and he was freebasing things and leaving things everywhere. I remember needing to go to hotel rooms to clean up after him.”
She added: “I was such an enabler without knowing I was an enabler. But I just felt such a responsibility to cover this up, hold it together and protect him.”
After Odom was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, his drug use “was monstrous.”
“I’ve just never seen so many drugs in such a dark spot and it was just such a dark aura around us. They weren’t testing for certain painkillers and he knew which ones they weren’t,” Kardashian continued. “He was freebasing painkillers. … He was locked in the hotel bathroom for maybe four days just doing drugs. Has no concept of time. He was horrible because he was so f***ed up and high.”
Why Khloe Kardashian Hid Lamar Odom’s Addiction
Khloé Kardashian explained that she didn’t go public about Lamar Odom’s drug problems because they were both concerned about his career.
“When I really discovered that there was a problem, he was like, ‘You cannot tell anyone, I’ll lose it all. And if I lose it, where are we going to live?’” she recalled. “At the time, I was 24. I’m still trying to figure out my life. I had the show, but we weren’t making money like that.”
She continued: “I remember just keeping all these secrets and feeling horrible about myself. I think youth had a lot to play with it. My first real love and then you just feel for this person. You rationalize that this person died and his dad is a heroin addict. Now let me try to fix you and show you. If I love you enough, I’m going to make you better. But I was fighting every single day either to protect him to not let him get caught, which sounds insane. I was trying to make sure his image, how he looked and how he presented himself to the outward world was still that Lamar Odom. I didn’t sleep for years.”
Kardashian said the situation got worse every time Odom wasn’t in-season.
“He spiraled again and did crazy drugs,” she added. “He overdosed a few times. I had to pump his stomach — all privately. I got him help at home and detox centers. We did everything we could.”
Lamar Odom’s Intervention
Things took a turn when Khloé Kardashian was urged to set up an intervention for Lamar Odom, saying, “The interventionist said, ‘You’re going to go in there and you’re going to tell him he needs to go to rehab. If he doesn’t stay for a three-month program, you are going to say you’re getting a divorce.’ Everyone around me was like, ‘He’ll never say he wants the divorce.’”
Odom, however, reacted differently than Kardashian expected.
“He’s like, ‘OK, all I want is my passport and let’s get the f***ing divorce.’ I didn’t want the divorce,” she continued. “Lamar left immediately. He was like, ‘We’re getting the f***ing divorce, and I’m never coming back here again.’”
Odom went on to visit a legal brothel in Nevada, which is where he suffered an overdose.
The Aftermath of the Overdose
In the doc, Khloé Kardashian claimed Lamar Odom’s dad visited him in the hospital but left after she gave him “a pair of Nikes, $100 and a hotel room for the night.”
Odom expressed gratitude for Kardashian, saying, “I had no control of my bowels. My wife helped wipe some of the s*** up.” Kardashian confirmed she “never left the hospital” for “about four months.”
The Breaking Point
Khloé Kardashian set up a home for Lamar Odom to recover in but then caught him using drugs again.
“He was in his bedroom sitting on the edge of the bed and smoking crack. I just punched him in his face,” she noted. “I just put my life on hold to f***ing take care of you. He was better than I knew. He was playing me so I can continue this lifestyle for him. I said, ‘By Monday, you need [to be] out of this house. I’m done. I’m not paying for a thing and I never want to speak to you again.’”
