Thursday evening, People Magazine published a story online: “Kim Kardashian ‘Can’t Wait’ to Have Pete Davidson Home from Australia: They’re ‘Still Very Happy’.” Sources said that Kim loved visiting Pete in Australia last month and she couldn’t wait for him to come back to America in a few weeks. Sources said that “the long distance hasn’t been easy for Kim, but they are making it work. They are still very happy. They are very much a serious couple.” That was one of People’s top stories throughout the day on Friday, and still featured near the top of the page for most of Friday. Then, by Friday evening, E! News broke the news that Pete and Kim had called it quits:

It’s time to keep up with a newly single Kim Kardashian. The Kardashians star and Pete Davidson have broken up and decided to just be friends, sources close to the couple exclusively tell E! News.

The insiders share that while the pair has “a lot of love and respect for each other,” they found that the long distance dynamic and their demanding schedules “made it really difficult to maintain a relationship.” The split occurred sometime this week.

Pete has been spending part of the summer in Australia working on the movie Wizards!. As for Kim, she continues to raise four kids—North, Psalm, Chicago and Saint, with her ex Kanye West.

“The divorce is moving ahead with Kanye,” another insider shares with E! News. “They are happily co-parenting.”

[From E! News]

TMZ and People Mag followed up with their own confirmations, and it seems someone (Kim/Kris) parroted the “decided to just be friends” thing to every outlet. My question: the People Mag story was so clearly a cutesy PR hit from the Kardashian-Jenner operation, so what changed so quickly? Thursday they were just fine and then Friday evening, they weren’t. It’s not that Pete was afraid of commitment – that’s not it. My guess is that one of them cheated. Page Six’s sources said it was a different issue though:

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson’s age difference caused them to split earlier this week, sources exclusively tell Page Six.

“Pete is 28 and Kim is 41 — they are just in very different places at the moment,” the insider says. “Pete is totally spontaneous and impulsive and wants her to fly to New York, or wherever he is on a moment’s notice. But Kim has four kids and it isn’t that easy. She needs to focus on the kids.”

The source also tells us that Kardashian — who runs multiple businesses and stars on a reality show — was “totally exhausted by this relationship and other things going on in her life.”

The “Kardashians” star has recently had a tumultuous relationship with ex Kanye West, which caused strife while she was dating the “SNL” alum.

The insider explained, “When Kim is with someone else, Kanye can cause problems with the kids. He tries to divide and conquer. He can’t help it. Kim is a really dedicated mother, and her kids will always come first. She wants and needs harmony at home and in her life.”

[From Page Six]

I don’t doubt the Kanye stuff, and I think it’s pretty likely that Kanye is still making Kim’s life hellish behind-the-scenes, even though he seems to have taken it down a notch publicly. Kim might simply need less drama overall and she was tired of fighting with Kanye over Pete. As for the age difference stuff… I mean, yeah, I can see how that would be a problem, especially with Pete talking about how his ultimate goal is fatherhood. But this whole situation really does feel sudden, idk.

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