On Oct. 4 Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries stopped by the "Tonight Show With Jay Leno," where they kissed, laughed and appeared to be in love. Less than a month later, Kim would file for divorce.
On Wednesday night, Kim admitted to Leno that she purposely took a break from the spotlight by moving in with her mother for "a good four months," with the goal of taking some time for herself while being as comfortable as possible in sweats and UGGs.
Those four months were no picnic, says Kardashian, who called that period of her life "the toughest thing she's ever had to go through." The decision to divorce was no doubt painful in itself, but Kardashian was also surprised by the intense public backlash she faced because of that decision.
"I really was [surprised] ... It was really tough to go through and I didn't know the media would be so brutal with it," she said.
It must be hard for Kardashian to talk about her failed marriage without sounding like a broken record. The 31-year-old reality star added that she's "learned so many lessons" and the experience has fundamentally changed who she is as a person -- something she's said in nearly every interview since she filed for divorce.
For someone so media-savvy, it also didn't help that she dodged Leno's question about exactly when she knew the marriage was over. She simply answered, "To be fair to everyone, I just felt like I had to end it and I'm OK with that decision. I know I made the right decision."
It may seem as if there could have been a lot of heartbreak saved had Kim trusted members of her own family who weren't fond of Humphries, but she admits she wasn't going to listen to anyone.
"When I'm in love, you can't tell me anything," she explained. "And you gotta go through it yourself. So, I did what I believed in doing, and sometimes you don't want to hear what your family has to say."
But despite all the reported drama surrounding the divorce, it's important to note that Kim hasn't publicly badmouthed Humphries. In fact, she didn't even say his name once during her entire interview with Leno.
Humphries himself has remained relatively quiet -- many believe it's due to an iron clad prenup that prevents him from talking about his soon-to-be ex-wife. Any of the mudslinging reported in the press has come from "close friends" or "insiders" who do the dirty work, spreading rumors and creating drama.
It truly is the media who is blowing this divorce out of proportion in a transparent effort to sell magazines. This week's Life & Style magazine features Humphries on the cover with the misleading headline "Don't Believe Kim's Lies." Yet inside the magazine, the 26-year-old basketball player doesn't mention Kim at all.
"I'm a genuine person who says it like it is," he told the magazine during a photo shoot for the watch company he endorses. "I only like to be involved with things I truly believe in ... A lot of people do things just for money, but that's not for me."
There are those who claim that's a dig at Kardashian, but it's not. In fact Humphries' lawyers recently made a statement to HollywoodLife that his client would not take part in any badmouthing and denied reports that he was demanding $7 million to end the marriage once and for all.
"Much effort and energy to mis-direct the public's perception of what transpired between Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries has taken place over the past several months, some even going so far as to attempt to create settlement 'demands' where none have been made," the statement reads. "Neither Kris Humphries nor his legal team have spread these rumors nor will they ... This case will be resolved not in the court of public opinion amidst ridiculous and defamatory allegations and personal attacks directed against Kris Humphries."
