One year after overdosing and nearly dying at Las Vegas’ Love Ranch brothel, former NBA star Lamar Odom is still trying to put his extreme lifestyle behind him, says a source in the new issue of Us Weekly: “He is the best he has been in many months.”
This summer in NYC, the dad of three would disappear for days, says an insider, hitting up strip clubs, smoking pot and drinking heavily. On July 11, Odom, 36, was kicked off a Delta flight for vomiting while allegedly drunk. Soon after, Us reported he dodged a family intervention.
Odom’s recent return to L.A., where better friends surround him, turned the tide. “He’s talking to his kids all the time, and they motivated him to start making changes in his life,” another insider reveals. Odom shares two kids, Destiny, 18, and Lamar Jr., 13, with ex-girlfriend of 10 years Liza Morales. The duo most recently spent a June day with dad at Disneyland.
But he is not talking to soon-to-be ex-wife Khloé Kardashian, 32, who he considers a “trigger” that causes him to freak out and get into trouble, according to the source. In fact, the insider revealed Odom is trying to “trying the best he can to distance himself from the Kardashians.” Adds the insider: “The first anniversary really woke him up, and he realized he almost died.”
One way Odom is getting his life back on track is through physical fitness. In August, Odom’s trainer Oneil Pryce exclusively told Us Weekly that the former L.A. Lakers player is working on getting back in shape. Pryce, the owner and founder of Real Deal Fitness gym, told Us August 10, “He’s really trying hard and that is what we are working on right now … keeping his mental state high.”
