The Kardashians is back on Hulu with a third season of family hijinks, and it’s already apparent that they’re still willing to share even the most personal aspects of their lives with the audience. Kim Kardashian touched on feeling “guilt” about what Pete Davidson went through with Kanye West during their relationship, and Kourtney Kardashian spoke candidly about being done with IVF and the realities of freezing her eggs. Khloé Kardashian, however, was especially vulnerable in the Season 3 premiere, addressing some tough issues in regard to using a surrogate for her and Tristan Thompson’s son Tatum, and I love how honest she was.
There’s no question surrogacy is a blessing for people who can’t carry their own child, and a privilege, due to how much it can cost. It’s a great option for many people to start or grow their family, and for many who go that route, it’s the only option to do so. For all of those reasons, it couldn’t have been easy for Khloé Kardashian to say anything even remotely negative about her experience. However, she said she wished people had been honest with her about the differences, and I think it’s great that she’s providing her perspective for others who may be considering getting a surrogate.
During the episode — in which the Good American founder finally revealed that her son’s name — she admitted to feeling less connected to Tatum than she did after giving birth to daughter True. She told Scott Disick and Kim Kardashian:
But the surrogate process, it’s really hard for me… It’s a mindfuck. It’s really the weirdest thing… People say it’ll take a minute, but Kim said hers was easy. This is not easy.
It’s clear that she and her older sister have spoken about their respective experiences, since Kim Kardashian used a surrogate for her two youngest children, Chicago and Psalm. Khloé had a hard time accepting the process, her sister said, and it’s heartbreaking that having a different experience than Kim left her unprepared for the emotions she felt. She told the camera:
I definitely was in a state of shock, I think, from my entire experience in general. I felt really guilty that this woman just had my baby, and I take the baby, and then I go to another room, and you’re sort of separated. I felt it’s such a transactional experience because it is not about him. I wish someone was honest about surrogacy and the difference of it. But it doesn’t mean it is bad or good — it’s still great. It’s just very different.
Khloé Kardashian’s view on surrogacy is one that’s perhaps not talked about as openly, because it’s hard to associate having a baby by any means as anything other than wonderful. It doesn’t have to be just one thing, however, and Khloé acknowledged that just because it was hard doesn’t make it bad.
There’s also the issue of what else Khloé Kardashian was dealing with for the duration of the surrogate’s pregnancy. It was only days after she and Tristan Thompson learned they were having their second child when news broke that he’d impregnated another woman. She should have been able to spend those months giddily preparing for Baby Tatum, but instead she was enduring a humiliating public breakup. That all likely contributed to it not feeling real, as Khloé said on the show:
I definitely buried my head in the sand during that pregnancy that I didn’t digest what was happening, so I think when I went to the hospital, I really think that was the first time it really registered. It has nothing to do with the baby. It’s just, you’re like, ‘OK we’re having a baby, and this is my son, and I’m taking him home with me.’
I applaud Khloé Kardashian for speaking so honestly about her experience with surrogacy, because it will likely help other families feel more prepared if they go that same route in having children. And I hope we get to see more of Tatum and his sister True as The Kardashians Season 3 continues. New episodes will be available to stream with a Hulu subscription each Thursday, and be sure to check out our 2023 TV schedule to see all of the upcoming premieres.
