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Kanye West’s relationships are about as iconic as his music.His first known public romance was with his high school sweetheart, Sumeke Rainey, whom he dated until his debut album,The College Dropout, catapulted him into unimaginable superstardom in 2004.After graduating from up-and-coming rapper and producer to earning a seat at the table of hip-hop royalty in the late 2000s, West and modelAmber Rosebecame something of a power couple during his808s & Heartbreak(2008) andMy Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy(2010) eras.Above all, the most famous (and infamous) of the leading ladies in West’s life wasKim Kardashian, for whom the Chicago-born artist believed he was destined.“I felt like our love story is like a love story for the ages,” Westtold Angie Martinez in a Hot 97 interviewin 2013. “I felt like when we first got together, it was like a Romeo-and-Juliet kind of thing.”Kimye’s rise and fallwere captured across various seasons ofKeeping Up with the Kardashians, which chronicled their 2014 wedding in Italy, the birth of their four children and their contentious divorce in 2021.Even after Kardashian, West continues making headlines for the women he’s romanced.Here’s a look back at Kanye West’s dating history.
Kanye West’s relationships are about as iconic as his music.
His first known public romance was with his high school sweetheart, Sumeke Rainey, whom he dated until his debut album,The College Dropout, catapulted him into unimaginable superstardom in 2004.
After graduating from up-and-coming rapper and producer to earning a seat at the table of hip-hop royalty in the late 2000s, West and modelAmber Rosebecame something of a power couple during his808s & Heartbreak(2008) andMy Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy(2010) eras.
Above all, the most famous (and infamous) of the leading ladies in West’s life wasKim Kardashian, for whom the Chicago-born artist believed he was destined.
“I felt like our love story is like a love story for the ages,” Westtold Angie Martinez in a Hot 97 interviewin 2013. “I felt like when we first got together, it was like a Romeo-and-Juliet kind of thing.”
Kimye’s rise and fallwere captured across various seasons ofKeeping Up with the Kardashians, which chronicled their 2014 wedding in Italy, the birth of their four children and their contentious divorce in 2021.
Even after Kardashian, West continues making headlines for the women he’s romanced.
Here’s a look back at Kanye West’s dating history.
01of 09Sumeke RaineyGettyBefore he became a household name, West dated his high school sweetheart. While their relationship remained out of the public eye, he referenced her on “Never Let Me Down,” a track from his 2004 debut album,The College Dropout.“Nothing sad as that day my girl’s father passed away/ So I promised to Mr. Rainey I’m gonna marry your daughter,” he rapped on the song.The pair’s relationship ended as he rose to stardom.
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Sumeke Rainey
Getty
Before he became a household name, West dated his high school sweetheart. While their relationship remained out of the public eye, he referenced her on “Never Let Me Down,” a track from his 2004 debut album,The College Dropout.
“Nothing sad as that day my girl’s father passed away/ So I promised to Mr. Rainey I’m gonna marry your daughter,” he rapped on the song.
The pair’s relationship ended as he rose to stardom.
02of 09Alexis PhiferChris Weeks/WireImageThe rapper and designer Alexis Phifer dated on and off from 2002 until 2008. The pair went through a rough patch when West’s career skyrocketed in 2004 after the release ofThe College Dropout. They later reunited, and in August 2006, the Grammy winner proposed to her over a lobster and pasta dinner while vacationing on the island of Capri.After an 18-month engagement, during which West’s momDonda unexpectedly died, the pair called it off in April 2008.“It’s always sad when things like this end, andwe remain friends,” Phifer told PEOPLE at the time. “I wish him the best in his future and all of his endeavors. He’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met.”
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Alexis Phifer
Chris Weeks/WireImage
The rapper and designer Alexis Phifer dated on and off from 2002 until 2008. The pair went through a rough patch when West’s career skyrocketed in 2004 after the release ofThe College Dropout. They later reunited, and in August 2006, the Grammy winner proposed to her over a lobster and pasta dinner while vacationing on the island of Capri.
After an 18-month engagement, during which West’s momDonda unexpectedly died, the pair called it off in April 2008.
“It’s always sad when things like this end, andwe remain friends,” Phifer told PEOPLE at the time. “I wish him the best in his future and all of his endeavors. He’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met.”
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Brooke Crittendon
Dan MacMedan/WireImage
Crittendon laterspoke toEssenceabout the pressure the spotlight on the relationship put on her, saying in 2009, “[I] had to live in the shadow of that’s ‘Kanye’s ex-girl.’ I’m so much bigger than that.”
She added that the relationship ended on good terms. “Mr. West and I are amicable,” Crittendon said. “I wish him the best, and he wishes me likewise. As far as I’m concerned, if he ever needed anything, I’d be there and [he would do] the same for me.”
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Amber Rose
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
“The only thing I got from him was fame. I had to just take that,” Rose said during a2017 interview onComplex’sEveryday Struggletalk show. “I had to take that heartbreak on top of it.”
She continued: “I’m famous, and I’m broke. I can’t date anyone else. I can’t say anything on the Internet because Kanye has such a voice. If I was going to kill myself, I would have done it during those times.”
Rose went on to marry rapperWiz Khalifain 2013; the twoshare a son named Sebastian Taylor. After thepair settled their divorce in 2016, she began dating music executive Alexander “AE” Edwards, with whom shewelcomed son Slash Electricin October 2019. Although, in 2021,Rose accused Edwards of cheatingon her with at least 12 different people.
05of 09Kim KardashianKim Kardashian and Kanye West.George Pimentel/GettyAfter ending her 72-day marriage toKris Humphriesin 2012, Kardashian began dating the rapper, with whom she had a longstanding friendship.By December of that year, the pair announced that they wereexpecting their first child together. Four months after welcoming daughter North in June 2013, West popped the question in an elaborate proposal at San Francisco’s AT&T Park.The pairwed in 2014 in Florence, Italy. The musician andKeeping Up with the Kardashiansstar laterwelcomed son Saintin December 2015 before expanding their family with daughter Chicago and sonPsalmviasurrogate in 2018 and 2019, respectively.Kardashian and West have gone through a rollercoaster of public ups and downs throughouttheir relationship, and she ultimately filed for divorce on Feb. 19, 2021.After her turbulent marriage with West, Kardashian began datingSaturday Night LivecomedianPete Davidsonin October 2021. The new couple didn’t last, though: She and Davidsoncalled it quitsin August 2022.
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Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.George Pimentel/Getty
After ending her 72-day marriage toKris Humphriesin 2012, Kardashian began dating the rapper, with whom she had a longstanding friendship.
By December of that year, the pair announced that they wereexpecting their first child together. Four months after welcoming daughter North in June 2013, West popped the question in an elaborate proposal at San Francisco’s AT&T Park.
The pairwed in 2014 in Florence, Italy. The musician andKeeping Up with the Kardashiansstar laterwelcomed son Saintin December 2015 before expanding their family with daughter Chicago and sonPsalmviasurrogate in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Kardashian and West have gone through a rollercoaster of public ups and downs throughouttheir relationship, and she ultimately filed for divorce on Feb. 19, 2021.
After her turbulent marriage with West, Kardashian began datingSaturday Night LivecomedianPete Davidsonin October 2021. The new couple didn’t last, though: She and Davidsoncalled it quitsin August 2022.
06of 09Irina ShaykPaul Morigi/WireImage; Michael Loccisano/Getty ImagesSeveral months after Kardashian filed for divorce, PEOPLE confirmed in June 2021 thatWest was seeing modelIrina Shayk, who shares a daughter with actorBradley Cooper.The pair werespotted in France together, where West celebrated his 44th birthday.“She seems smitten,” a source told PEOPLE at the time. “He invited her to France, and she happily accepted. They are not officially dating, but there is an interest from both sides.“Shaykpreviously modeled for Yeezyand appeared in his 2010 music video for “Power.“In August 2021,sources confirmed to PEOPLEthat the pair had split.
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Irina Shayk
Paul Morigi/WireImage; Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Several months after Kardashian filed for divorce, PEOPLE confirmed in June 2021 thatWest was seeing modelIrina Shayk, who shares a daughter with actorBradley Cooper.
The pair werespotted in France together, where West celebrated his 44th birthday.
“She seems smitten,” a source told PEOPLE at the time. “He invited her to France, and she happily accepted. They are not officially dating, but there is an interest from both sides.”
Shaykpreviously modeled for Yeezyand appeared in his 2010 music video for “Power.”
In August 2021,sources confirmed to PEOPLEthat the pair had split.
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Julia Fox
Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty
A rep for theUncut Gemsactress confirmed to PEOPLEin a statementat the time, “Julia and Kanye remain good friends and collaborators, but they are no longer together.”
Fox lateropened up about the breakup toESmagazinein September 2022.
“The unresolved issues that he was dealing with,” she said. “It just seems like he had a lot to work on, and I just don’t have time for it or energy. I don’t have the bandwidth or emotional capacity for it.”
As for whether she and West were officially “boyfriend” and “girlfriend,“Fox clarified: “I don’t think those words ever came out of my mouth, actually. It definitely felt like I was his girlfriend. But it also felt like I was being cast in the role of his girlfriend — and he was casting me. He was the orchestrator of it all. It really did feel like a movie.”
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Chaney Jones
Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company; chaney jones/instagram
Westwas first romantically linkedto Jones in February 2022, when they were photographed shopping together in Miami’s Bal Harbour. He seeminglyconfirmed the romanceon Instagram one month later, commenting on photos of them with a black heart emoji.
The pair was also spottedsitting court-side togetherat a Los Angeles Lakers game in March 2022, and shecongratulated him on his latest Grammy winsin April 2022.
“THE BIGGEST 🐐🖤 SO PROUD,” Jones wrote after West won best melodic rap performance and best rap song.
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Bianca Censori
Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/GC
After calling things off with Jones, West began dating Australian architect and entrepreneurBianca Censori, who has been an architectural designer for his fashion brandYeezysince November 2020.
The first sign of West’s affection for Censori came in December 2022, when he seemingly named a song after her, “Censori Overload.”
On Jan. 9, 2023, West and Censori werespotted dining togetherat the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. On Jan. 13, 2023, TMZ reported the couple hadsecretly wed in a “private ceremony”and had even been photographed wearing wedding rings a day before their dinner date. At the time, according to TMZ, the legitimacy of their courtship was unclear, as West and Censori reportedly haven’t filed an official marriage certificate.
source: people.com
