Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett’s Ups and Downs Through the Years

Credit: Chris Polk/FilmMagic

Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett’s Ups and Downs Through the Years

Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett went through a lot during their near a decade of marriage — from cheating scandals and sex tape releases, to pregnancies and coparenting. The former couple, who share son Hank IV and daughter Alijah, have had more ups and downs than most since tying the knot in June 2009. Since their 2018 divorce, though, the Kendra alum has been “evolving" and coming into her own, her best friend Jessica Hall told Us Weekly exclusively in June 2019. “Now that Kendra's on her own, she’s taking care of her babies and ... way focused,” Wilkinson’s pal told Us at the time. “I’ve never seen her be such a good mom as she is now and she’s working at it. I get a lot of advice [from her] because her kids are older and her parenting skills — she’s just evolving.” Hall added, “I can’t even say enough good things about her being a mom right now, ‘cause she’s just killing it and she’s doing it on her own, and I’m just really proud of her.” The former Playboy model opened up four months earlier about how great she was feeling post-split. “The depression is gone finally,” she captioned an Instagram selfie at the time “I’m living a whole new life, very different but the kids and I are bonding more than ever. Have had to work extra hard to find stable grounds but we did it and back enjoying life again. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Ya know...” By May 2020, the Sliding Into Home author had found a better coparenting rhythm with her ex. “Kendra has been staying busy and positive during the quarantine,” a source told Us at the time. “Her and Hank have been coparenting really well together throughout [the health crisis] and have been for a while now." Three months later, another insider said the pair had no plans to pursue anything romantic with each other, but their coparenting arrangement was still going strong. “Kendra and Hank have been very cordial and are in a really good spot with coparenting,” the source told Us in August 2020. “Hank is out of the picture in terms of a romantic relationship, but they have a good thing going when it comes to the kids. They switch off week to week with them.” The following year, Wilkinson herself echoed that sentiment. "It is stable,” she told Us of her relationship with Baskett in April 2021. “We are [in a better place]. Time heals all.” Keep scrolling for a deeper look at the highs and lows that Baskett and Wilkinson experienced both before and after breaking up. [podcast_block]

Credit: Chris Polk/FilmMagic

Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett’s Ups and Downs Through the Years

Kendra Wilkinson and Hank Baskett went through a lot during their near a decade of marriage — from cheating scandals and sex tape releases, to pregnancies and coparenting. The former couple, who share son Hank IV and daughter Alijah, have had more ups and downs than most since tying the knot in June 2009. Since their 2018 divorce, though, the Kendra alum has been “evolving" and coming into her own, her best friend Jessica Hall told Us Weekly exclusively in June 2019. “Now that Kendra's on her own, she’s taking care of her babies and ... way focused,” Wilkinson’s pal told Us at the time. “I’ve never seen her be such a good mom as she is now and she’s working at it. I get a lot of advice [from her] because her kids are older and her parenting skills — she’s just evolving.” Hall added, “I can’t even say enough good things about her being a mom right now, ‘cause she’s just killing it and she’s doing it on her own, and I’m just really proud of her.” The former Playboy model opened up four months earlier about how great she was feeling post-split. “The depression is gone finally,” she captioned an Instagram selfie at the time “I’m living a whole new life, very different but the kids and I are bonding more than ever. Have had to work extra hard to find stable grounds but we did it and back enjoying life again. Sometimes things happen for a reason. Ya know...” By May 2020, the Sliding Into Home author had found a better coparenting rhythm with her ex. “Kendra has been staying busy and positive during the quarantine,” a source told Us at the time. “Her and Hank have been coparenting really well together throughout [the health crisis] and have been for a while now." Three months later, another insider said the pair had no plans to pursue anything romantic with each other, but their coparenting arrangement was still going strong. “Kendra and Hank have been very cordial and are in a really good spot with coparenting,” the source told Us in August 2020. “Hank is out of the picture in terms of a romantic relationship, but they have a good thing going when it comes to the kids. They switch off week to week with them.” The following year, Wilkinson herself echoed that sentiment. "It is stable,” she told Us of her relationship with Baskett in April 2021. “We are [in a better place]. Time heals all.” Keep scrolling for a deeper look at the highs and lows that Baskett and Wilkinson experienced both before and after breaking up. [podcast_block]

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I Do

The Girls Next Door alum wed the NFL player at the Playboy Mansion in June 2009, two weeks after revealing that they were expecting their first child together. Wilkinson called Baskett “the man of my dreams” shortly before the wedding. “He’s one in a million,” she told Us at the time. “I’m so lucky.”

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Welcome, Baby Hank

Wilkinson and her husband welcomed their first child, son Hank Baskett IV, in December 2009. The former Playboy model told Us of her unexpected pregnancy, “We always hinted to each other that we wouldn’t mind having kids soon. We weren’t trying, but we didn’t use a condom that night.”

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Sex Tape Struggles

Wilkinson’s sex tape, which was reportedly filmed when she was 18, was released in 2010, causing tension between her and Baskett. “It’s hard on him because it involves another guy, of course, and it’s hard on him because of our son and everything,” she admitted during an episode of her show, Kendra. “He’s understanding. [He says], ‘We just have to hold our heads up high because we’re gonna get attacked, but we can’t run. We have to face it.’ It’s gonna be really hard. Probably the hardest time of our lives.”

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Making Long-Distance Work

Wilkinson stayed in Los Angeles when Baskett was traded to the Minnesota Vikings. She explained that they used Skype, texting and FaceTime to make their long-distance relationship work. “It’s actually a blessing in disguise,” she said during a Today show interview in November 2010. “We get a chance to know each other all over again and communicate.” She also clarified that she and her husband weren’t separated.

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Baby No. 2

After long hinting that she wanted to have another baby, the Dancing With the Stars contestant gave birth to the pair’s second child, daughter Alijah, in May 2014.

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Hank Cheats While Kendra’s Pregnant

Us exclusively revealed in July 2014 that Wilkinson threw her wedding ring in the toilet after she discovered Baskett cheated on her with transgender model Ava Sabrina London while she was eight months pregnant with Alijah. The football player denied the infidelity allegations and opened up about what he claimed really happened on Marriage Boot Camp in July 2015. Baskett said he thought he was going somewhere to buy weed to alleviate his depression, but things took a turn. “What I walked into scared me … I instantly felt I had lost everything just because of what I had seen. I wanted to get out but I couldn’t move. This person came to me and touched me.”

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Kendra Takes Him Back

The Kendra on Top star ultimately decided to get back together with Baskett, which the couple spoke exclusively to Us about in November 2014. Wilkinson admitted it would “take a lifetime” for her to trust her husband again, but she was working on it. “All I can say is I believe Hank. I love Hank. And he’s proven to me that he’s worth forgiving and fighting for,” she told Us. “He was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and unfortunate things took place. He’s very gullible and naive.”

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Kendra Kisses Another Man

Wilkinson was photographed kissing her I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! costar Jimmy Bullard in February 2015. She later admitted on Kendra on Top, “I love Jimmy and yes, I do want to kiss him,” which Baskett called a “double standard.” However, he confessed during an April 2016 episode of The Steve Harvey Show that he encouraged his wife to “go play around” with other men following his infidelities.

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On the Rocks?

A source told Us in November 2015 that Wilkinson was “deeply unhappy” in her marriage but wanted to “stay together for the kids.” The insider added that she was still upset about Baskett’s affair: “I’m not sure she’ll ever get over it.”

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Divorce Looms

Us broke the news in March 2018 that Wilkinson planned to file for divorce from her husband of nearly nine years. “She’s been really unhappy and felt uncomfortable in the marriage and they have been fighting a lot,” a source told Us. The former Playmate admitted the previous month that the pair were facing marital problems again. Shortly after Us’ report, Wilkinson tweeted, “I will always love Hank. Always.”

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It’s Over

Wilkinson confirmed on Instagram in April 2018 that she and Baskett had split after nearly nine years as a married couple. “Today is the last day of my marriage to this beautiful man,” she wrote. “I will forever love Hank and be open but for now we have chosen to go our own ways. … U will prob see us together a lot but it’s because there’s no hate. Love wins in this case it’s just looks a little funny. Thank you Hank for a beautiful 8 years of marriage and 2 beautiful kids. I feel so thankful and blessed.”

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High Hopes

"You always leave the door open for that, always," Baskett told TMZ in April 2018 about possibly reconciling with his ex. When asked whether they would get back together for their children or their feelings for each other, he said, "both."

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Quality Coparenting

Keeping it cordial! "They both had a great time with their kids and had smiles on their faces the whole time," celebrity publicist and event planner Richard Harlow told Us after the former couple attended a children's birthday party with their little ones.

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Next Steps

The former reality star and the athlete settled the details of their divorce in October 2018.

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Sweet Shout-Out

“The kids and I are so proud of @TheHankBaskett for going out and helping put out fires around Calabasas,” Wilkinson wrote on Twitter in November 2018. “He saved many homes without the people probably even knowing. Great job Hank!”

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Moving On?

After the former Kendra on Top star and Bachelorette alum Chad Johnson were spotted holding hands in January 2019, Wilkinson tweeted, "For the millionth time. I’m not dating right now. I’m basically a f—king virgin … Trying something new and going celibate."

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Done Deal

Officially single! The ex-pair finalized their divorce in February 2019, sharing joint physical and legal custody of their brood. They also kept their individual properties and split money in their bank accounts evenly.

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Quarantine Coparents

During the coronavirus lockdown of 2020, a source told Us that the former couple were "in a really good spot" with their coparenting. “Kendra isn’t a dramatic person and puts her kids first and doesn’t think outside noise is worth fighting over,” another insider said, referencing reports that the reality star had been spotted with a mystery man. “She has her weeks on and off with the kids and she’s just happy her kids are healthy and in a great place.”

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Making It Work

In April 2021, the model told Us that she and her ex were doing well as coparents. “It is stable,” she said of their relationship. “We are [in a better place]. Time heals all.” She added that the quarantine was "good for all of us" because it "was an extended version of mom and kid time."