Lamar Odom Jr. still thinks of the Kardashians as family.
The former NBA player was married to reality star Khloé Kardashian from 2009 until 2016 but admitted that he just wants her to be “happy,” and because he doesn’t have any siblings of his own, he will always be close to her brother Rob.
“I don’t have any siblings. It was cool to me to have somebody [Rob] come in my life and play that role. I learned from it. Once a family, always a family! I want everybody to be happy. Khloé is strong and is someone who I’ve always looked up to,” Odom told E! News.
“She’s always looked amazing to me,” he added.
Kardashian and Odom tied the knot in a 2009 episode of “Keeping up with the Kardashians” after just one month of dating. Kardashian ended their marriage in 2013 amid his struggles with addiction, and their divorce was finalized in 2012.
Good American founder Kardashian went on to have True and Tatum with now ex-partner Tristan Thompson. These days, Odom has teamed up with her former steparent, Caitlyn Jenner, to front their own podcast, “Keeping Up with Sports.”
“We have mutual friends in the entertainment world, and it just kind of brought us back together. It’s kind of uplifting. A lot of our segments have been therapeutic for me,” Odom said about his new venture with former Olympian Jenner, who was previously known as Bruce Jenner before transitioning in 2015.
Upon the launch of the series, Caitlyn — who was previously married to Khloé’s mother Kris Jenner — admitted she and her new co-host were keen to shine a light on important events within sports and entertainment.
“I know the dialogues we have on ‘Keeping up with Sports’ will emphasize athletes’ unique stories and events in their lives that matter to the sports and entertainment community,” Jenner — who won the decathlon gold at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal — said in a statement.
