When Did Kanye West Start Living in Wyoming? How His Move Led to Divorce From Kim Kardashian

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When Did Kanye West Start Living in Wyoming? How His Move Led to Divorce From Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West disagreed about plans for their future for years before pulling the plug on their marriage in 2021. The reality TV mogul and the rapper, who share daughters North (born 2013) and Chicago (2018) and sons Saint (2015) and Psalm (2019), wed in 2014. While they were primarily raising their kids in Calabasas, California, the couple started spending time in Wyoming as a family more and more in 2019. When asked where she saw herself in 10 years in her September 2019 Vogue cover story, Kardashian replied, “In my mind, I’m already living in those 10 years. I see us living on a ranch in Wyoming, occasionally going to Palm Springs and our home in Los Angeles – and becoming a lawyer. … I would probably do it from [Wyoming] and fly into D.C., NY, and L.A.” The Selfish author had a change of tune, however, revealing in a June episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians that she had no desire to base her life or law career out of Wyoming. “I just honestly can’t do this anymore. Why am I still in this place where I’m stuck for years? Like, he goes and moves to a different state every year,” Kardashian said. “I have to be, like, together so I can raise the kids. He’s an amazing dad, he’s done an amazing job.” She added that West “deserves someone who will support his every move” and “go follow him all over the place and move to Wyoming.” [jwplayer G0LAEvRG-l3ahXupL] Kardashian explained, “I can’t do that. He should have a wife that supports his every move and travels with him and does everything, and I can’t. I feel like a f–king failure. It’s my third f–king marriage. Yeah, I feel like a f–king loser. But I can’t even think about that. I want to be happy.” Us Weekly confirmed months before the episode aired that Kardashian and West had been “living separate lives for many months now,” with the E! star filing for divorce in February. While the Grammy winner has yet to publicly comment on the split, a source told Us that West didn’t want to leave Wyoming. “Kanye became obsessed with starting an artists' getaway in Wyoming where he could focus on his music, fashion and art,” the insider said. “Kanye loves his kids and they come to visit, but Kanye felt he couldn’t create as well in L.A., the expansive nature and the privacy helped him to be inspired. Kanye also loves that everyone who comes out to the ranch is there for business or for art. Wyoming is also a great place for Kanye’s mental health.” Scroll through for a complete breakdown of West and Kardashian’s Wyoming woes:

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When He Started Living There

Kardashian confirmed in May 2018 that West was spending time in Wyoming recording music after his controversial appearance on TMZ Live during which he called slavery “a choice.” The following year, the musician purchased two different properties in Wyoming.  

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Kanye’s Big Plans for His Wyoming Land

The rapper filled Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in on his plans to turn his ranch into a “seed to sew” operation for Yeezy during a 2019 interview.

“We’re building farms here because of the climate and because of the soil and hydroponic cotton, wheat, hemp and we’re developing our own fabrics so we’re going to go from seed to sew from the farming table so we can see the entire process,” he said at the time.

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A Fight for the Couple Since 2019

Kardashian told Jimmy Fallon in September 2019 that it’s West’s “dream” to relocate their family.

“We love Wyoming. It’s always been such an amazing place,” she said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “My husband did just buy a ranch there. His dream and his vision is to move there. I love L.A., so I envision summers, I envision some weekends but yeah, we love it. It’s, like,  the prettiest place you’ve ever seen in your entire life.”

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Kim’s On and Off Visits

Kardashian and their kids were spotted in Wyoming a lot in 2019 but visited less in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. West, however, continued to spend time out of California during the pair’s tumultuous year. After a trip with the kids and several members of the Kardashian-Jenner family in June 2020, the KKW Beauty CEO was last publicly seen in Wyoming that July. She was spotted looking emotional in photos from the car with West, who had come under fire at the time for his comments about daughter North and abortion, tweeting about “trying to get divorced” from Kardashian and claiming his wife and mother-in-law Kris Jenner tried to “lock” him up.

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Kim’s Breaking Point

Before Kardashian opened up about their divorce on KUWTK, a source told Us that her breaking point was West’s desire to “move to Wyoming full-time.”

The source explained in January, “It’s where he sees this direction of his life going. Kim just doesn’t see their lives full-time in Wyoming.”