Photo Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
Last weekend, Kendall Jenner shocked the tabloids by doing something she’d never dared do in public before: hugging her maybe-boyfriend. That’s right – she hugged him. At Drake’s tour stop at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, she hugged Bad Bunny, who she was said to be dating, and held his face in her hands. And that in the photographer’s field of vision! In Jenner’s long dating career, there has never been such a public display of affection.
Unlike her famous older sisters, whose romantic lives have become the focus of the family’s reality shows, Jenner has never introduced a boyfriend to the camera. Instead, she mostly sticks to talking about her love of horses or her struggle with fears. I can imagine that made life difficult for the producers: Last season of The Kardashians, they were forced to spark interest in Jenner’s life by asking her about her upcoming baby — a little horse, that is.
In 2021, Kardashians producer Farnaz explained Farjam Jenner’s reluctance to share her romantic life in this way: “Kendall always had this rule — she felt like she had to be with someone at least a year before she could put them on the show.” shared. because she doesn’t always know what people’s intentions are. So we sort of kept her private life out of the equation just because she had a rule.”
Perhaps that rule will change thanks to Bad Bunny. But Jenner has been keeping up for years and is much less open about her relationships than her sisters. According to the tabloids, the model has been dating Harry Styles, Nick Jonas and several NBA stars including Jordan Clarkson, Devin Booker, Ben Simmons and Blake Griffin. What did Jenner say about one of those alleged relationships? As good as nothing. But somehow — maybe with the help of her mom, Kris Jenner — the tabloids keep finding things to cover about these romances. Unfortunately, it’s mostly the same things.
When Jenner was spotted with Styles on a yacht in St. Barts in 2016, she declined to comment on the relationship. But an “insider” told People that she’s had a “normal” time with the pop star. “There was a lot of flirting, touching and cuddling,” the source said. “They acted like a couple. You look very cozy and happy.”
Later that year, Jenner was spotted with Clarkson at one of Drake’s parties. Again, she never mentioned this meeting in interviews or on her family’s reality show. But an eyewitness revealed the truth anyway. “They definitely had a flirtatious vibe and were very intimate,” a source told People. “Jordan was extremely considerate of her and treated her like his girlfriend.”
In the absence of real information, these “sources” described the best approximation of human romantic behavior they could come up with: It’s flirtatious, it’s touching, it’s a girlfriend.
The following year, Jenner was linked to Griffin, who had recently ended his relationship with his fiancé and mother of his two children, Brynn Cameron. Cameron sued Griffin for child support, claiming he left her to date Jenner, which, hey – that’s interesting! But of course, Jenner has never spoken publicly about it. Instead, the tabloids were forced to run the same old story about their budding new relationship.
“You are real. They’re a full couple,” another source told Us Weekly. “Kendall has attended a lot of his games and they’ve enjoyed the time at home when Blake is in town. You’re good.” Tell me more!
Another eyewitness spotted Jenner and Griffin on a double date with Jenner’s sister Kylie and then-boyfriend Travis Scott, and dutifully described the mood: “Kylie and Kendall were both very loving and cuddly with their friends. Both couples were almost always holding hands or hugging.”
The words of a real person who actually witnessed that date, or those of a random sixth grader trying to imagine what it was like? We can’t tell.
Jenner’s relationships with Simmons and Booker yielded more colorful insights. Can you guess which alleged boyfriend this source spoke to People about?
“They always have the best time together,” the source said. “They are together and seem happy at the moment. They both had plenty of time to see each other.”
It’s Simmons, huh.
Now that Jenner is fully immersed in a new, private relationship, the tabloids have ramped up their AI-powered source machines again. Jenner and Bad Bunny have reportedly been dating for six months, and in that time she hasn’t once mentioned him publicly. So how can we learn the intimate details of their relationship? A People source said it all back in April:
“They are very cute together. Kendall is happy. He’s a funny guy. Very gentlemanly and charming. She likes his mood. He’s very relaxed.”
Great. At least she has now hugged him publicly.
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