When Keeping Up with the Kardashians debuted on E! in 2007, Rob Kardashian had the world at his feet. The handsome, healthy teenager was dating actress Adrienne Bailon at the time, and their relationship became the focus of some of the reality show’s earliest episodes, but they went their separate ways in 2009 after Bailon reportedly cheated on him. Kardashian refused to allow his heartbreak to send him into a downward spiral, but the same cannot be said of his next break-up.
Kardashian went on to date pop sensation Rita Ora, though he later claimed she was unfaithful with “more than 20 dudes.” When Rob and Rita split in 2012, his weight started to become a major issue. He turned to junk food to help him cope, and as his weight ballooned, his self-esteem went in the other direction. Kardashian became a recluse, reportedly afraid to step out in public out of fear of being photographed.
In 2018, he finally managed to shed some pounds and get back within reach of his ideal weight, but how did he do it? From his dangerous binge-eating and struggles with depression to his dramatic turnaround, let’s take a closer look at Rob Kardashian’s dramatic weight loss transformation.
It all started with milkshakes
According to Rob Kardashian, his weight gain began when he started enjoying his sweet treats a little too much. By 2015, the reality star’s appearance was making headlines for all the wrong reasons, forcing him to take action and start working out. In a now deleted Instagram post (viaEntertainment Tonight), he revealed that his problem worsened when he started consuming milkshakes at an alarming rate. His weight gain was so dramatic that he wound up trending on Twitter because of it.
“So I found out I was trending for being fat,” he tweeted (via People). “Thank you all it really made my day.” This was just one of a series of tweets that the former model sent out before deleting the whole rant. “No one will ever understand how much it hurts,” he later added. “I’m aware that I’m fat that def ain’t a surprise to me lol and my only therapy will be in the gym, anyways had to say something.”
He got too fat for wedding photos
Rob Kardashian’s Twitter outburst came just days before his sister, Kim Kardashian, was due to marry rapper Kanye West in Italy. She, of course, invited her brother to the ceremony, but despite making the trip to Europe, he decided to pull out because he didn’t want to be pictured looking so overweight. According to TMZ sources, Rob had “become so insecure and depressed about his appearance [that] he refused to be in the family wedding pics, despite his family’s encouragement.”
“I was doing suit fittings in Paris right before the wedding and I just wasn’t comfortable,” he told People (via the Mirror). “I’m 6’1″ and at my most I probably weighed 300 pounds.” The presence of the paparazzi didn’t help matters. “There were cameras at the airport on our trip there and I was very unhappy with the person I saw in all the pictures.”
His sisters used ‘tough love’ on him
When newlywed Kim Kardashian returned to the States, she appeared on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live and told host Andy Cohen that Rob sent her “a long email” on the morning of her wedding explaining his reasons for bailing. Kim wasn’t feeling sympathetic: “I’m definitely a tough love kind of person,” Kim said (viaPage Six). “If I don’t like something that’s going on in my life, I change it. I don’t sit and complain about it for a year. I try to encourage him and once you just don’t make that change for so long and it’s not happening, I get frustrated. My patience runs out.”
Kim isn’t the only Kardashian to have lost patience with Rob. When his sister Khloé(who lived with Rob at the time) told Peoplein 2015 that she was at her wits end with him. “I’ve been really trying, but I have my moments and I do snap. I’ve offered to get a chef, I’m like, ‘What’s your excuse?’ But it’s not just that. I can’t win life for Rob. I have to wait until [he’s] ready to do it for himself.”
He refused to go to rehab
Rob apparently flat-out refused Khloé’s offer to bring in a personal chef for him, and this wasn’t the only time he turned down help from the family. There were rumors that the sock designer had been offered a place at a weight loss camp, but he was quick to shoot down that story on Twitter. “To the blogs saying I went to fat camp or rehab — LOL,” he said (via E! Online). “Then why am I still fat you fools? Y’all must have run out of real news.”
As a last resort, the Kardashians decided that they needed to set up a family intervention, just like they did on a 2012 episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but as soon as Rob caught wind of what was happening he split, according toRadarOnline. “He’s refusing rehab, he doesn’t want any fat farms, no more therapists, no more interventions, diets, and meddling sisters,” an insider said in 2017.
His mom thought he was ‘going to die’
Rob is said to have suffered from depression after the death of his father (whom he was named after) in 2003, and has apparently been sinking deeper and deeper into it ever since, with his weight issues only making matters worse. In a 2015 episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, his mother, Kris Jenner, says she fears the worst is yet to come.
“As a mom, it breaks my heart to see Rob going through what he’s going through,” she says on the show (via the Mirror). “He’s kind of stuck in a really bad place and I just want to help him get out of it. If I don’t help him do something drastic, he’s going to die. I’m just waiting for this horrible thing to happen and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Kris reveals that Rob had gained more than 100 pounds since his depression worsened.
He was diagnosed with diabetes
By the end of 2015, Rob’s weight was beginning to have life-threatening implications. In December of that year, he was rushed to a hospital after falling ill at home. According to TMZ sources, Rob supposedly had no idea he was diabetic and was shocked when tests revealed he had developed the disease. The TMZsource added that Rob was determined to shed the extra weight and get healthy in the new year, but according to one whistleblower, his lifestyle only got worse.
Speaking to Radar Online, an insider close to the Kardashian camp caimed his biggest weakness was ice cream. “He thinks nothing of having two or three tubs in the afternoon,” they said. “It’s wreaking havoc on his diabetes — not to mention the added stress the weight is putting on his heart.”
He became a total recluse
Rob reportedly became so disheartened about his appearance that he chose to withdraw from society altogether, holing up inside his mom’s house and becoming a total recluse. Speaking to WonderWall in March 2015, his “number one supporter” Khloé revealed that he was suffering from mental illnesses as well as physical ones. “Over the last year, Rob has become very introverted and has a kind of social anxiety,” she said. “I know he can get to that happy place and he will.”
When his sister Kim sat down for an interview with the Today show a few weeks later, she also addressed his decision to retreat from the public eye, particularly reality television. “I think he’s just going through a phase where he’s not comfortable in his own skin,” she said (via People). “He is working really hard to get back to where he really wants to be.”
While his sisters were showing some faith in him, Rob’s friends weren’t so sure he could do it. “His weight affects his mood and then his mood affects his motivation to eat well and work out — it’s a vicious cycle,” one confidant told Hollywood Life (via HeatWorld).
His former dance partner called him out
While those closest to Rob were warning him about the consequences of his weight gain and encouraging him to change his ways before it was too late, there was at least one person who thought he was fine just the way he was. During her interview on the Allegedly podcast (via People), Rob’s former Dancing with the Stars partner Cheryl Burke had this to say: “I’m surprised that he’s making it a bigger deal than it is. I think that it’s fine, why does he have to go into hiding or why isn’t he coming out? I think it’s not a big deal.”
Burke called Rob a “normal” and “sweet” guy with nothing to be insecure about. “I say: ‘Just own it Rob, get out there.’ … It just happens, it’s not like he’s so obese he can’t walk. He’s good. He’s chill.”
Blac Chyna helped him lose weight
To his credit, Rob finally managed to change his lifestyle enough to get his diabetes under control. Contrary to previous reports, the reclusive reality star claimed hewas aware that he was diabetic but had stopped taking his insulin because it was inconvenient. “I didn’t enjoy the routine.” he told People (via CNN). Treating his diabetes was the first big victory in his battle with obesity, but Rob didn’t do it alone.
He revealed that his romance with modelBlac Chyna turned out to be the catalyst he needed in order to make positive changes in his life. “She’s surrounded me with a lot of positivity,” he told People at the time. “From the moment we met, I knew I wanted to be more than friends.” According to TMZ (via the Daily Mail), his new flame encouraged him to cut carbs and red meats out of his diet and hit the gym five days a week, with absolutely no cheat days. With her help, he was able to shed an impressive 40 pounds.
But he piled it back on after they split
Blac Chyna gave birth to Rob’s daughter,Dream Kardashian, in November 2016, but less than a year later, the two had separated under very nasty circumstances. The breakup took its toll on Rob, who started to pack on the pounds again. “He’s the biggest he’s ever been,” a friend told Radar Online. “He’s well over 300 pounds now — we don’t know as the scales don’t go up past that — and he’s a heart attack waiting to happen.”
Radar‘s source claimed Rob had been “comfort eating big time” since his explosive split. “His fridge has become his best friend,” the insider said. “He’s got major anger and addiction issues, brought on by a chronic lack of self-esteem over his looks and his position in the family. He’s lost the will to live and if it wasn’t for his little girl he’d probably not have made it.”
According to The Belfast Telegraph (via the Inquisitr), Kim allegedly urged Kris Jenner to stop “enabling” Rob’s unhealthy lifestyle with financial support.
Kylie helped him slim down
While Kim once again urged the family to exercise tough love on Rob, younger sisterKylie Jenner reportedly took a different approach. According to Hollywood Life, Rob started joining Kylie for workouts every other day as she aimed to shed her baby weight (she gave birth to daughter Stormi in February 2018), and before long, he was looking slimmer than he had in years. “Seeing the weight fall off has been huge in helping Rob get his confidence back,” a source revealed. “Kylie challenged and pushed Rob to be better for Dream, and that’s all the motivation he needed.”
The insider claimed Rob finally agreed to adhere to a catered diet, though having young kids in the house has also been a huge help. “Rob is staying disciplined and sticking with a strict nutritional program that he’s been put on to get his weight down as well, and it makes it easier for him since Dream keeps him pretty active already.” The source added, “He’s having a blast chasing her around and seeing her grow up so fast.”
The extent of Rob’s weight loss became clear in a picture Kim posted to Instagram on his 31st birthday in March 2018.
Did he secretly get surgery?
At the time of writing, skinny Rob is back and — if he has anything to do with it — he’s back to stay. But did he really lose all that weight through exercise and healthy eating like he claims? According to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Blac Chyna alleged Rob underwent a series of cosmetic procedures at costs totaling $100,000. Chyna reportedly made those claims while defending herself against allegations that she had deceived sponsors by going under the knife.
The statement from Chyna’s lawyers claims. “…The manner in which Rob Kardashian revealed Ms White’s personal medical information jeopardised Ms White’s endorsement deals with several weight loss, fitness and diet companies that all pay Ms White to promote their products on social media.”
Regardless, we just want Rob to feel mentally and physically happy and healthy. Here’s hoping for more good news to come
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