Tristan Thompson appeared on Khloe Kardashian’s podcast Khloe in Wonderland on May 28, 2026, marking his first sit-down with his ex-partner since their 2021 split.
The episode, described in its YouTube description as “the conversation people did not think was possible,” covered co-parenting, the loss of his mother, his post-NBA career pivot, and the vasectomy Khloe says she pushed him toward. Thompson, now 35, said he had one lingering uncertainty heading into co-parenting life.
During the podcast, Thompson said,
“I think it’s more so, can we come to a place of maturity where emotionally we don’t get frustrated. That was probably the one area where you wonder, like, how’s this going to look? But I always knew it would work because you grew. It’s not foreign to you. I’m a chameleon.”
The one thing that worried Tristan Thompson about co-parenting, and why he says it worked
Tristan Thompson and Khloe Kardashian share two children; daughter True, born April 2018, and son Tatum, born August 2022 via surrogate. The two have spent five years navigating their relationship as co-parents after their final split in 2021 following his infidelity.
On the podcast, Thompson said that while he was never worried about whether co-parenting would function, the emotional dimension gave him pause. His reasoning for confidence was straightforward: Kardashian had grown up watching co-parenting modeled around her. In the May 28, 2026 episode, he said,
“I never ever crossed my mind whether or not it was going to be able to work. I was never worried about the co-parenting part because you’re around it.”
Kardashian, for her part, said she had been deliberate about shielding the children from any adult conflict. She said,
“Whatever adult drama we have, I keep it to the adults and we handle it privately and as responsibly as possible”
Tristan Thompson credited mutual respect as the central pillar, saying that most co-parenting failures he observed stemmed from disrespect rather than the breakup itself. He also acknowledged that earlier arguments between them were more emotionally driven, while the dynamic now is focused on what he called “wanting the best for our tribe.”
The two said they have reached a point where they can disagree and still function. Khloe Kardashian acknowledged on the podcast that there are days she tells Thompson she cannot stand him and hangs up, but described that as normal family behavior rather than dysfunction.
Tristan Thompson on vasectomy and rules around introducing new partners
One of the more candid exchanges in the episode centered on Tristan Thompson’s vasectomy, which E! News reported on May 28, 2026, came about after an ultimatum from Kardashian. Thomspon said,
“I already have enough baby mommas, I don’t want no more”
Khloe Kardashian confirmed she initiated the push, saying,
“Tristan may have had a little ultimatum from me. Sometimes you have to get forced into the right decision.”
Thompson acknowledged the procedure took about 15 minutes and that he was back on his feet quickly. He noted, however, that he took precautions in the event a future wife wanted children. Kardashian also said she legally holds the two embryos the couple created during their IVF journey, which E! News reported began in early 2021.
On introducing future partners to his children, Thompson told Kardashian on the podcast that his position is firm. “It’s a hard no,” he said, adding that he would not introduce anyone to his kids unless marriage was the definite endpoint. He said True and Tatum are both highly protective of him and of each other, and he does not believe they would easily accept anyone new.
“I don’t think any guy is going to be good enough for you,” he also said when asked how he would handle Kardashian dating again, adding he would take an approach of “ignorance is bliss.”
Tristan Thompson on grief, his brother Amari, and family after his mother’s death
A significant portion of the episode addressed the death of Tristan Thompson’s mother, Andrea, who died suddenly of a heart attack. Thompson is the eldest of four siblings, namely DeShawn, Daniel, and Amari, and said he moved to the United States at 16 after lobbying his mother from age 13, writing her letters about why American basketball represented his family’s best path to financial stability.
He told Khloe Kardashian on the podcast that the day he was drafted fourth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 26, 2011, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, was the moment he retired his mother, saying,
“She never drove a school bus again, never bagged the grocery, never babysat, never had to do all that”
When Andrea died, his youngest brother Amari , who has Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a chromosome disorder, was left without a caretaker. Thompson said that the decision to bring Amari to live with him in Southern California was immediate. Kardashian described the moment on the podcast, noting that the family used Kim Kardashian’s plane to transport Amari back quickly.
Tristan Thompson said his children’s exposure to Amari has become something he values deeply, recounting a moment at a birthday party where a four-year-old asked why Amari wasn’t talking and then wondered aloud whether Ursula from The Little Mermaid had taken his voice. Thompson said he found the innocence of it moving rather than offensive.
Tristan Thomson revealed that losing his mother ultimately pushed him to redirect his energy toward his children and to prioritize his own wellbeing, saying,
“I can’t help my kids if I can’t help myself”
Life after the NBA
Tristan Thompson, who retired after a 14-year NBA career, told Khloe Kardashian on the podcast that his post-basketball focus is pivoting into AI, finance, and technology. He said the window to capitalize on name recognition narrows the longer a former athlete waits. He spoke of Shaquille O’Neal and Magic Johnson as models for building a business profile that exceeds a playing career.
When both were asked what they wanted listeners to take away from the conversation, their answers converged on forgiveness and co-parenting as a deliberate choice. Tristan Thompson said it starts with respect, that even in conflict, maintaining that baseline is what separates functional co-parenting from the kind most people are more accustomed to seeing.
Khloe Kardashian said she wanted people to understand that being wronged does not have to define how someone shows up afterward, adding that she does not need anyone’s acceptance for the dynamic she and Thompson have built.
Khloe also addressed the cheating directly on the podcast, saying she was not excusing it but believed the path that followed was what was meant to come from the relationship. Thompson closed by saying their connectivity is now stronger than it was when they were together, a conclusion both appeared to share by the end of the episode.
Edited by Devangee Halder
