Kim Kardashian says she had ‘Stockholm syndrome’ during Kanye West relationship

Kim Kardashian revealed she always felt the pressure to protect and help Kanye West during his controversial public outbursts until one of their four children witnessed his antics.

“I’ve been able to hide it for so long,” she shared on Thursday’s Season 7 premiere of “The Kardashians.”

“I always felt like I had a little bit of Stockholm syndrome, to where I always felt really bad and always protected [him] and always wanted to help [him].”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, Stockholm syndrome is defined as a trauma bond in which a victim can feel sympathetic toward their abusers, or “develop positive feelings toward their captors or abusers over time.”

While Kardashian, 45, didn’t elaborate on the situation that changed her perspective, she added, “This was the first time I didn’t feel that responsibility personally.”

The Skims founder also called out critics who believe she has “the luxury of walking away” from West, 48, and “never dealing [with him] ever again,” saying, “That’s not my reality.”

“This person, we have four kids together,” she said, referring to North, 12, Saint, 9, Chicago, 7, and Psalm, 6.

Elsewhere, Kardashian explained that she experiences psoriasis flares — a skin disease that causes rashes — when she feels “more stressed” to “protect what [she has] to protect.”

“My kids are involved now,” she said, admitting she doesn’t have a coping mechanism and solely focuses on trying to shield them from West’s outbursts.

“They’re going to know things,” the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” alum continued. “They’re going to grow up. They’re going to see. So my job as a mom is to just make sure that at a time when that behavior is happening, is to make sure they’re protected.” 

Kardashian also claimed that West has “been a little too quiet.”

The “Heartless” rapper hasn’t been publicly seen since August and last posted on social media in September.

The reality star, meanwhile, also addressed the hitmaker’s former allegations that she keeps their children from him.

“It’s a divorce, not a kidnapping,” she said. “We haven’t left. We’re in the same spot, we have the same address, so he knows where his kids are.”

The businesswoman, who recently claimed that the “Bound2” artist hasn’t reached out to their kids in “a couple months,” recalled the alleged past co-parenting plans she made with him.

“What happened to the house you bought next door, and we were going to co-parent and do it like back and forth, and you take them to school every day … [and] have dinner with us every night,” she questioned.

“Obviously, that just wasn’t what he wanted, and I get that. Maybe it was too much.”

Kardashian and West tied the knot in 2014 and finalized their divorce in 2022.

He has since remarried to Bianca Censori in 2022.