The Truth About Blac Chyna And Rob Kardashian's Relationship
The following article includes allegations of domestic abuse.
Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian were first linked in January 2016 and by the end of the year, the pair were mom and dad to their daughter Dream. Things moved quickly for the twosome, who broke up and reunited several times throughout 2016 and 2017, finally calling it quits for good in the summer of 2017 (via People).
The notoriously rocky relationship between the two has been punctuated by lawsuits and allegations of physical and mental abuse on both sides. The pair have filed custody suits against one another, and Chyna has even gone as far as to file a defamation lawsuit against members of Kardashian's famous family.
Despite those woes, there were some good times for the couple, too. Here's a look at the quick rise and even faster fall of Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian, and everything we know the two have been through since they first went Instagram official in January 2016.
Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian sparked dating rumors back in 2016
Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian tried to keep things a little coy when they were first dating. Fans didn't know anything was going on between the pair until Chyna shared a since-deleted photo of a man's heavily tattooed arm around her shoulders and eagle-eyed fans spotted Kardashian's distinctive body art (via People). Fans were intrigued and surprised by the pairing, considering the relationship marked Kardashian's first major coupling since he and Rita Ora dated in 2012.
The relationship between Kardashian and Ora was fairly brief, with Us Weekly noting that the twosome were only together for roughly two months. After the pair broke up, Kardashian lashed out against Ora on Twitter, alleging that she cheated on him and denigrated her based on what he believed her intimate life was like. He wrote, "I am actually disgusted a woman could give up her body to more than 20 dudes in less than a year's time while trying to start a career" (via Us Weekly). Later, Kardashian clarified his tweet, saying, "I posted what I posted to keep myself from taking her back. ... I just had to do that to make her hate me."
Blac Chyna and Kylie Jenner share a past boyfriend
The relationship between Blac Chyna and the Kardashian-Jenner family began before Chyna and Rob Kardashian were ever together. In fact, things between Chyna and Kardashian really go all the way back to 2011, when Chyna was in the music video for Tyga's song "Rack City." Chyna and Tyga struck up a relationship, and Chyna gave birth to their son King Cairo Stevenson in 2012. Tyga and Chyna were engaged until August 2014, when they called off their engagement and ended their relationship (per People).
Tyga was photographed spending time with Kylie Jenner around the time he and Chyna broke up. Chyna's friend Amber Rose eventually revealed the rapper and the reality star were together when she told The Breakfast Club, "Tyga should be ashamed of himself. That's how I feel, for sure. He has a beautiful woman and a baby that he left for a 16-year-old who just turned 17." By March 2015, Tyga had confirmed the relationship (via People).
Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna's relationship was rocky
If there's one hallmark of Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna's relationship it is that, by their own admission, it was extremely tumultuous and up and down. Chyna later admitted that she initially thought Kardashian approached her as some kind of set-up orchestrated by his famous family because of her connection to Kylie Jenner through ex-boyfriend Tyga. As she told Us Weekly, "After all that stuff, the turmoil and what not, Robert, he was hitting me up on Instagram, like, all the time, and I thought it was a set-up, like, they trying to set me up to go with the brother, I'm not falling for that."
Once the two were together, they were not without their own drama. Chyna allegedly threatened the life of Kylie Jenner and also reportedly tried to strangle Rob Kardashian with a cell phone charging cable, aimed a gun at him, and even threw a chair at his car as he attempted to leave (per BuzzFeed News). The two called off their relationship in 2017. Afterward, Kardashian shared sexually explicit photos of his ex-girlfriend online, prompting Chyna to file a restraining order, CNN reported.
They happily welcomed daughter Dream in 2016
In May 2016, representatives for Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian confirmed that the pair were expecting a baby together. Sources close to the couple allegedly told Us Weekly that, at the time, Chyna and Kardashian hoped to get married sometime in the summer of 2016. However, by the time their daughter Dream was born in November 2016, the two were no closer to walking down the aisle.
Nevertheless, Chyna and Kardashian felt Dream brought them closer, at least for a period of time. Both parents were thrilled with their daughter, with Kardashian sharing on Instagram that he believed the little girl looked a lot like his dad. As he wrote, "Pops sent us an angel. It's truly a blessing. He's happier than anyone on this day. I'm so happy and thankful" (via Us Weekly).
Dream's arrival prompted Kardashian to move in with Chyna, as the pair had previously not lived together. As People shared at the time, Kardashian was focused on being a dad and on his family. A source reportedly told the publication, "She's changed his life. She makes him want to be better. And he's spending a lot more time with his family."
The couple had a reality show for one season
Rob Kardashian's famous family got their start on their reality show "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," so it's not too surprising that Kardashian and Blac Chyna explored having a reality show of their own. In 2016, they filmed and released one season of "Rob & Chyna," though the ill-fated show didn't make it past that initial run.
The show's executive producer, Jeff Jenkins, later admitted that when he first met the couple, he thought they were great together. As he put it, "That was really exciting." Unfortunately, it seems the good vibes didn't last long. As Jenkins told Page Six, "That was the first and the last time I saw the couple happy." From what Jenkins said, the show began to run into the ground almost as soon as filming began. Jenkins continued, saying, "She was furious with him... and he was furious with her. It was very negative. It was very difficult to shoot a show 'Rob & Chyna In Love' when they were not even talking to each other." As a result, the couple went into counseling and hoped to film a second season of their show, though that season was never greenlit (per Page Six).
They broke up for good in 2017
While Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna broke up more than once during their relationship, the two ended up calling it quits for good in 2017. By the time the relationship ended, it had degraded to a point that Chyna was reportedly considering using physical violence against Kardashian, as leaked texts from her phone revealed that she felt less than in love with the father of her second child (via Heavy).
In February 2017, Chyna was spotted out at a meal with an unknown man and was noticeably not wearing her engagement ring. Us Weekly reported that the man was allegedly the same person the former model had been seen with in January of the same year, though the rumor was never confirmed. In July 2017, Chyna shared a since-deleted photo of herself with the caption, "Single. I'm happy," which appeared to all but confirm the rumors that things were done with Kardashian (per Heavy).
Rob Kardashian found himself in hot water after sharing photos of Blac Chyna
July 2017 was a testy time for the former couple, and Rob Kardashian found himself in the hot seat after he seemingly violated California's "revenge porn" laws. After sharing a video of Chyna kissing another man and claiming that the mother of his child had cheated on him, Kardashian took things a step further and published explicit and private photos that Chyna had previously sent him.
Chyna appeared on ABC News to explain how she felt after realizing the photos were out there. She said, "I was devastated, of course. This is a person that I trusted ... I felt comfortable, you know, with even sending these pictures and even talking to him about certain things." Chyna went on to express that she felt "betrayed" but the person she once hoped to marry.
Chyna's lawyer Lisa Bloom ended up requesting a restraining order on behalf of her client, telling ABC News that in California what Kardashian did is a crime. Bloom added, "It's also domestic abuse, which allows us to go in immediately and get domestic violence restraining orders to protect Chyna."
Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian have been locked in legal battles for years
The restraining order Blac Chyna received in July 2017 was only the beginning of the legal battles between her and ex-boyfriend Rob Kardashian. Chyna's legal team hit the ground running, with lawyer Walter Mosley explaining to People that they were exercising all of their options. Mosley said, "I am exploring all legal remedies and protections available to my client at this time in attempts to best advise her on how she may want to proceed."
Chyna dropped her domestic violence case against Kardashian following a private agreement between the couple, BuzzFeed News reported back in 2017. Additionally, Kardashian filed a lawsuit against Chyna for assault, but later backed down. "Now that the court has ruled that there is sufficient evidence to warrant a jury trial on my claim for assault, for our daughter's sake, I am dismissing the action and focusing on my co-parenting relationship with Chyna," he told Page Six in February 2022.
However, that wasn't the end of the legal battles. Per Us Weekly, Chyna filed a suit against several members of the Kardashian family — Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, and Kylie Kardashian — claiming they were the reason a second season of "Rob & Chyna In Love" never made it to the light of day. The Kardashian-Jenner clan attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed in 2020, but that particular drama finally played out in a courtroom in April and May 2022.
Rob Kardashian once said Blac Chyna was a danger to their daughter
In January 2020, Rob Kardashian filed for full custody of Dream Kardashian, his daughter with Blac Chyna. Kardashian's allegations against Chyna were serious. Per TMZ, Rob said that Chyna's lifestyle was too dangerous for Dream, or any child, to be around. TMZ reported that the court documents filed by Rob revealed that Chyna was prone to having parties while her daughter was home, partaking in illicit drugs, and that she even resorted to chasing people around her home with knives.
Rob went on to describe troubling behaviors that he'd seen Dream demonstrate. In addition to his claims that the little girl often came to his home with messy hair and teeth, he said she also mimicked "naked twerking, and acting out sexual positions that she said her mom taught her" (per TMZ). However, the pair worked out a new custody arrangement in December 2020. Page Six reported that the arrangement includes an "alternating weekly schedule" for each parent as well as split time during holidays and vacations.
Blac Chyna claimed Rob Kardashian didn't pay child support
Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna were back in the news in March 2022 when Chyna accused her ex of failing to pay child support for their daughter. In fact, Chyna claimed that both Kardashian and Tyga didn't pay her anything, but the two men banded together to hit out at her accusations. After The Shade Room shared Chyna's side of the story on Instagram, Tyga commented, "I pay 40k a year for my son school & he lives w me mon- sat. Why would I pay child support lol."
Kardashian was quick to weigh in with his own perspective, writing, "I pay 37k a year for my daughter's school. handle every single medical expense. I pay for all her extracurricular activities. I have my daughter from Tuesday-Saturday. Why would i pay child support lol" (via Page Six).
Back in September 2020, Chyna had shared she was proud to take care of both of her children without child support. Per Page Six, she told Hip Hop Nation that not taking support was her "biggest flex."
In 2022, Blac Chyna lost her lawsuit against Rob Kardashian's family
In a blow that could further worsen relations between Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian, the former model lost her lawsuit against the Kardashian-Jenner family when a judge ruled against her (via People). Chyna had filed the $108 million defamation lawsuit against Khloe and Kim Kardashian as well as against Kylie and Kris Jenner, claiming that the foursome conspired to cause the cancellation of her show "Rob & Chyna" and that they intentionally spoke against her and her reputation. While Kim was eventually dropped from the suit, the process moved ahead against Khloe, Kris, and Kylie, according to People.
While the jury ultimately ruled against Chyna, Chyna's attorney Lynne Ciani told the Associated Press that "the jury found that Chyna had not physically abused Rob Kardashian" and "the jury found that all four defendants had intentionally interfered with her contract with the E! Network." Additionally, Ciani confirmed that Chyna plans to appeal the ruling.