Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson’s Relationship Timeline, In Their Own Words
Kim Kardashian found love when she was least expecting it. The reality TV star has been linked to comedian Pete Davidson, 28, who announced he was exiting “Saturday Night Live” in 2022, since October 2021, when she hosted the variety show.
Speaking to Hoda Kotb on her podcast “Making Space,” the mother of four said their romance was “the last thing that (she) was … planning on.”
Kardashian, 41, filed for divorce from Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, in February 2021, after six years of marriage.
Kardashian said she took her time before opening herself back up to love — just as her sister, Kourtney Kardashian, did before finding love with husband Travis Barker.
“I took 10 months or something before I dated or talked to anyone. And I just wanted that time to really figure out and go through the motions: ‘Am I making the right decision? How do I feel about this?’” Kardashian told Kotb.
“So once I went through all of the motions, I finally was, like, ‘OK, guys, I am so ready to meet someone.’ And I randomly did,” Kardashian continued.
The duo first met on “Saturday Night Live.” Months later, and the now-established couple is prone to sharing (non-scripted) kisses on social media. They often sport little tributes to each other: Kardashian got a bedazzled “P” on her nail, and Davidson got a tattoos in Kardashian’s honor. They attend events like the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in London and the White House Correspondents Dinner together.
Read on for their relationship timeline, in their own words.
Kardashian said Davidson calmed her down ahead of ‘SNL’ hosting gig in Oct. 2021
Kim Kardashian agreed to host “SNL” without ever having watched an episode on TV, she revealed on Amanda Hirsch’s “Not Skinny But Not Fat“ podcast in April 2022. Instead, she had gotten a front-row seat to the show, thanks to watching Ye perform.
As a result, Kardashian had some nerves ahead of her hosting gig. “I didn’t want to go and embarrass myself and get up there and not be funny,” she said.
But she had a little bit of help.
On the first-ever episode of “The Kardashians,” the family’s new reality show on Hulu, Kardashian recalled how Davidson helped her get into a positive mindset during a brief encounter at the Met Gala in 2021.
“I ran into Pete Davidson at the Met and I was like, ‘I am so scared. I don’t know what I signed up for,’” she recalled on “The Kardashians.“
Davidson knew just what to say, according to Kardashian. “He’s like, ‘Can you read cue cards? You’re good. You’re good,’” she added.
Davidson also offered her his phone number in case she needed any advice. There was just one problem: Her outfit.
“I had gloves on and I couldn’t get in my phone with the gloves and I was like, ‘Oh, I have gloves and I can’t…” And he was like, ‘Alright cool.’ And he walked away. But I was going to be like, ‘Oh, but take mine,’” Kardashian said on “Not Skinny But Not Fat.”
On the podcast, Kardashian revealed that Davidson had been trying to get her number prior to that interaction. “And everyone wasn’t really sure like, ‘Is she going through a divorce?’ He just wanted to wait a little bit,” Kardashian explained.
Kardashian described their first kiss — which was televised
The couple kissed for the first time as part of their Aladdin-themed “SNL” sketch on October 9. actually met for the first time earlier that day.
“We met that day (of filming). He came and we did one dress rehearsal and then the real thing,” she said on the episode of “Not Skinny But Not Fat.”
Kardashian said she felt a connection during that first kiss.
“When we kissed, I was just like, hmm. It was a stage kiss, but it was like still a little zing, you know? It wasn’t anything like a super crazy feeling. I was just like, hmm,” she said.
They made their public debut in Oct. 2021, but subtly went Instagram official in March 2022
Kardashian and Davidson were spotted holding hands on a date at Knott’s Scary Farm in Buena Park, California in late October. Davidson also appeared in Kardashian’s beach-set Instagram pictures from a Bahamas trip in January 2022 — but only as a shadow.
After months of speculation, Kardashian publicly acknowledged her romantic relationship with Davidson through an image gallery posted to Instagram in March 2022.
Scroll to the fourth photo. Davidson lays on top of Kardashian’s lap, and she looks down making a kissing face.
This served as confirmation of the relationship. As she joked to Ellen DeGeneres during a March 2021 taping of her show, “it’s not official until you post.”
However, Davidson was spotted with Kardashian in an Instagram post before then — but on Flava Flav’s account.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Flavor Flav said Kardashian set up the meeting for Davidson’s 28th birthday in November.
“One thing that I could say is Pete Davidson loves himself some Flavor Flav. Everything he does is, ‘Flavor Flav this, Flavor Flav that, Flavor Flav this, Flavor Flav that.’ So Kim said, ‘OK, well, for your birthday, you are going to have Flavor Flav.’ She sent for me and that’s how I ended up there,” he explained.
Kardashian spoke about the relationship publicly for the first time in March 2022
During aan interview with Variety, Kardashian talked about her new Hulu reality TV show, “The Kardashians,” and revealed why fans wouldn’t see Davidson in an episode.
“I have not filmed with him,” she said. “And I’m not opposed to it. It’s just not what he does.”
Kardashian said the show would explain how they met, and “all the details everyone wants to know.”
He could show up in future seasons, however. Kardashian added, “But if there was an event happening and he was there, he wouldn’t tell the cameras to get away. I think I might film something really exciting coming, but it wouldn’t be for this season.”
Here’s why Kardashian was hesitant to talk about Davidson on the show
At the April 2022 premiere of “The Kardashians,” Kardashian explained why her romance never became a plot line on Season One of the show.
She said she was “absolutely” hesitant to talk about their relationship because their love story is so new. “I didn’t want to meet someone, go on a date, and then talk about it on the show,” she told E! News at the Los Angeles event.
Davidson was also at the April 2022 premiere, but didn’t walk with her. “He’s here to support me. It’s my thing,” Kardashian explained. “I don’t think it’s his thing to be all up here with me. So, I’m just so happy he’s here.”
After the premiere, the duo met up for a “late nite snack,” which she posted about on Instagram.
Kardashian’s approach to sharing their relationship? ‘Just give a glimpse’
Kardashian is selective with what she shares of their relationship on Instagram, according to a March 2022 interview on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
“I have the cutest pictures of us and I want to be like, ‘Oh, my God, we’re so cute.’ But then I’m like, you know, ‘Don’t be so desperate. Don’t be posting so much, just give a glimpse,’” Kardashian told DeGeneres.
“I don’t know what the right thing to do is. Like, I haven’t dated in since before Instagram existed. Yeah, I don’t know what the rules are.”
Kardashian continues to show more glimpses, however. In May, Kardashian posted a short video of Davidson kissing her to her Instagram story.
They made their red carpet debut in May 2022
The couple attended the White House Correspondents Dinner in May 2022. “White House din din,” Kardashian captioned Instagram photos from the event, where journalists and comedians gather for a roast of the current presidential administration.
Kardashian ‘let go’ and opened herself up to the connection
While talking with Hoda on her “Making Space” podcast, Kardashian said that she didn’t expect to be in a relationship with Davidson because it happened when she “least expected it.”
“It was the last thing that I was really planning on,” she said. “And so when it did happen, we were kind of, like, ‘Oh, my God, I wasn’t planning on this. And this isn’t even what I was thinking of,’ and it just makes it that much sweeter and so much more fun,” Kardashian said.
When the duo started dating, the KKW Beauty founder didn’t find it necessary to keep her guard up. Her ongoing divorce, essentially, didn’t stop her from opening herself up to new love.
“We all know someone that’s been through a really hard time in relationships and everyone’s been OK and everyone comes out OK,” she said. “So you just have to … let yourself go and open yourself up to receive something and just be a good person and you’ll get that back.”
Kardashian noted that she hasn’t been entirely open about her relationship with Davidson. In fact, she’s been keeping “certain aspects” of their love story private so they can stay in their small “little bubble” sometimes.
She addressed their age difference of 12 years
Kardashian is 41 and Davidson is 28, giving them an age difference of 13 years.
Speaking to E! News, Kardashian addressed their age gap with a wink. She said when it comes to relationships, she goes off vibes: “Whatever good vibes are, that’s what you should go for.”
“If it’s older, younger, doesn’t even matter. But younger … I’m not mad at it,” she said.
Davidson got tattoos in Kardashian’s honor — and her name branded on his chest
Speaking to Ellen DeGeneres on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Kardashian confirmed that Davidson got “a few tattoos” in her honor. “A few cute ones,” she added.
“That’s what tattoo people do. They get tattoos of what’s going on in their life,” Kardashian said. Davidson also had tattoos dedicated to his ex-fiancée, Ariana Grande.
On her Instagram Story, Kardashian posted a photo of one of those tattoos. It says, “My girl is a lawyer.”
Davidson also has her name, “Kim,” branded on his chest — literally. “He wanted to do something that was really different,” Kardashian told Ellen. “He wanted something’s that’s there … He said, ‘I don’t want to be able to get rid of it.'”