Here's Why Kendra Wilkinson And Hank Baskett Split
In the mid-2000s, Kendra Wilkinson rose to fame at just 19 years old after starring as one of Hugh Hefner's live-in girlfriends on E's "The Girls Next Door," which ran from 2005 to 2009 (via IMDb). And being on the show would change her life forever — perhaps in ways she didn't expect.
At a 2008 Playboy golf tournament, Kendra met her future husband and father of her children, Hank Baskett, who was playing wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles at the time, per E! Online. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Kendra penned a loving caption nine years after they met. "We met that day out on the golf course and knew he was mine," she wrote.
Just a year later, the same year the show ended, Kendra moved out of the Playboy Mansion to pursue her relationship with Hank publicly, and, in June 2009, the two wed at a location Kendra knew very well — the Playboy Mansion (via E! Online).
Nearly a decade after they met, the couple ended their marriage in 2018 after grappling with major personal problems in a very public way. But what was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak? Here's everything we know about why Hank and Kendra divorced.
Hank and Kendra married shortly after they started dating
"The Girls Next Door" ran on E! from August 2005 to December 2009 (via IMDb). Though Kendra Wilkinson, Hugh Hefner's No. 3 girlfriend, left at the end of the fifth season — the episode that shows her moving out aired in March 2009, per IMDb — it didn't take her long to find a new beau, Hank Baskett.
E! Online reported that the couple met in 2008, and Kendra confirmed on "Chelsea Lately" that they were dating. A month later, the two were engaged, and, after seven months of wedding planning, they announced that they were expecting their first child together. On June 27, 2009, less than a year and a half after meeting, Kendra and Hank officially tied the knot at the Playboy Mansion.
Her depression led them to sleep in separate bedrooms
In 2011, Kendra Wilkinson published a memoir entitled, "Being Kendra: Cribs, Cocktails and Getting My Sexy Back," in which she discusses her transition from living the lavish Playboy life to settling down with her then-husband, Hank Baskett, and raising their son, Hank Baskett Jr., while Hank played professional football.
In an interview with InTouch Weekly that was published shortly before Kendra's memoir was released, she revealed that she and Hank were experiencing marital problems and she was struggling with depression. "I felt like I was in a black hole," she recalled. "I had so much anger inside. I'd lock myself in my closet to cry and scream."
At one point, just a few years into their marriage, Kendra and Hank began sleeping in separate bedrooms. This led the young couple to talk about the possibility of splitting up. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the end for their marriage.
Hank's alleged cheating scandal made headlines in 2014
Throughout the first few years that Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett were married, it was no secret that the couple experienced their fair share of troubles.
However, in 2014, their world was rocked when news broke that Hank reportedly paid for a sexual encounter with transgender model Ava Sabrina London. She spoke with the Daily Mail, detailing her experience with Hank, who, at the time, was expecting his second child, daughter Alijah, with his wife.
Kendra, who was eight months pregnant at the time, confronted her husband about the cheating scandal on "Kendra On Top," her reality show that ran for six seasons on WE tv.
A year later, in 2015, Hank opened up to People to share his side of the story regarding London. "I didn't engage in anything," he said. "It was like a bank robbery. You never know when you'll freeze. I don't know if it was a couple of seconds or 15 seconds, because all I was saying was get out, get out, get out."
Kendra opined: "Hank was very naïve and gullible. He thinks everybody is his friend. That led him to the hell that we've lived."
Their appearances on reality TV didn't seem to help
While Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett starred on "Kendra on Top" from 2012 to 2017 (via IMDb), they took their reality TV career to the next level by signing up for "Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars" on WE tv.
The show captured the pain both were feeling at the time, as one YouTube clip from 2015 shows, and also depicted how the media attention was further hurting their relationship.
"Waking up day in and day out, the scrutiny from everyone," Hank said in a confessional with Kendra. "The pain that you [Kendra] go through ... I ain't gonna lie, I'm scared to death. But I know that soon that pain is gonna just come out. I know it's gonna feel good. I know it is."
Though their supposed intention was to repair their marriage on the show, there was also plenty of drama. In another confessional clip, Hank gets visibly upset with his wife, saying: "You're telling me to go stand up and fight, and I'm trying to get away..." But Kendra cuts him off and says, "Don't be mad, women won't like you." He then walks off and says, "F*** interviews."
Kendra and Hank finally called it quits
After many ups and downs during their nine-year marriage, Kendra Wilkinson made a vulnerable social media post right before filing for divorce from husband Hank Baskett in April 2018, according to Life & Style.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, she told followers, "I did everything I could, it wasn't good enough. I will always love him and my heart will always remain open to him. I believed him forever. I really did. Guess it's just not meant to be. I'm so scared but I have to get strong for my kids. I will."
Years after their divorce was finalized, Kendra opened up in 2021 about co-parenting with Hank, saying "time helps all" (via Us Weekly).
Indeed, Kendra has gone through a stunning transformation, shifting her professional focus to real estate and starring in her own Discovery Plus show, "Kendra Sells Hollywood," which documents her juggling business and motherhood. In fact, Kendra spoke to The List exclusively about her journey.
Hank, who ended his NFL career in 2011, now has a video game partnership with the console company HBCustoms (via The Sun). And, judging by his Instagram, he remains a devoted dad.