In Khloe's defence, she probably thought he had changed; there'd been several mentions on her reality show that he'd been seeking therapy and that he had made it very clear he wanted to have another child with her.
They also already have a young child together, and it seems natural for Khloe to want the relationship to work for her and their daughter, True. Who doesn't want their nuclear family to survive and thrive?
But Khloe's decision to stand by Thompson, or at least try to make it work, has been treated with contempt and downright cruelty. The internet has called her everything from an "idiot" to "blind". Someone even tweeted she should be put under a "conservatorship!"
Interesting, right? Thompson keeps cheating on the mother of his child, and he isn't the idiot? Sure, people aren't impressed with his behaviour, but Khloe is the one being viciously roasted online.
The backlash against Khloe isn't anything new; as a society, we have a habit of blaming women for men's cheating and mocking them for staying.
From the very public way the world treated Hillary Clinton after Bill Clinton's affair to the judgment Alex Fevola copped for staying with Brendan Fevola after he had a very public affair with Lara Bingle, to Kevin Hart's wife Eniko staying with him after he cheated on her while she was pregnant.
The men, however? Sure, they dealt with becoming tabloid fodder, but no one was calling them "stupid" for staying in their marriages. Those kinds of insults were reserved for the women who in my opinion, bravely stood by them.
The truth is that women pay the price for men's poor actions.
In a documentary series about Hillary Clinton, media consultant Mandy Grunwald said: "Women who judged Hillary for staying with Bill Clinton would have voted for Bill Clinton all over again if they had the chance. And kept saying so … And yet they took it out on Hillary."
Women somehow are blamed and shamed when the men they trust cheat on them. Maybe you could accuse Khloe of being too forgiving, but how is that worse than being the one continually breaking her trust and lying to her? Isn't he the fool for being unable to control himself?
I understand the concern about Khloe staying with Thompson and continuing to expand her family with him. She really does deserve so much better, but it's also clear that she does not need to feel ashamed. She's simply tried to save her family.
In 2019, when speaking about Thompson's cheating, she said: "We all deserve forgiveness and love!"
That's an undeniably kind sentiment, and how dare we shame her for trying to take the high road. Who wouldn't want to try and make their family work, and really isn't that the braver choice? To know that everyone is calling you an idiot and still make the decision to try and save a relationship?
I think that's the definition of gutsy, and if you want someone to be angry at, surely it should be Thompson? He's the one that keeps breaking Khloe's heart.
