Unless you’ve been living under a rock over the past year, you probably know that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West divorced in 2021 after six years of marriage. You probably also know that prior to marrying Kanye, Kardashian had a short-lived marriage to NBA player Kris Humphries, which lasted all of 72 days. But what you may not know is that Humphries was not Kim Kardashian’s first husband. The 41-year-old media mogul got hitched for the very first time back in 2000 when she was just 19 years old. So, who was her first husband? Here’s the inside scoop about the rarely discussed relationship between Kim Kardashian and Damon Thomas.
Kim Claimed She Was High On Ecstasy At Their Wedding
Kim Kardashian was just 18-years-old when she met music producer Damon Thomas, who was 10 years her senior. The pair eloped in 2001—a year after meeting each other.
During an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kardashian said she was high on ecstasy the night she got married to Damon Thomas. The reality star added that she hasn’t made the best decisions while using the drug. “I did ecstasy once and I got married. I did it again, I made a sex tape. Like, everything bad would happen.”
Kardashian has also said that she was pretty naive at that age and tended to put the guys she dated on a pedestal. “I used to be so dependent on the guys I was in a relationship with,” she said in a 2011 interview with Harper’s Bazaar. “I don’t know why, because I wasn’t raised that way. If I looked at myself at 19, I would shake myself and be like, Wake up; you are way too smart for this!”
However, Thomas recalls their nuptials a little differently. During a 2022 interview with VladTV, he said didn’t remember her being under the influence and thinks she should “be more responsible” about how she talks about their marriage. “I think it’s unfair to make those kinds of blanket statements because we have kids now,” he said. “I have children. My kid goes to the same school her kid goes to. So imagine him when he has to deal with that at school.”
He also said, “Because it happened in the past, you can try to sweep it under the rug, but you don’t stay married to somebody or be with somebody for four to five years and it’s just based off you getting high off of ecstasy, you know what I mean?”
Damon Was Allegedly Controlling Toward Kim
It appears as though the couple tried to make things work at first. But by 2003, it became clear this union was not meant to be. According to court papers obtained by the Daily Mail, Thomas became extremely controlling and possessive of his wife. “Damon decided what we would do and when we would do it. He was very much the King of the castle,” Kardashian revealed in her filing.
According to the socialite, Thomas forced his wife to quit college, wouldn’t let her work, and wanted to know where she was and who she was with at all times. “Damon told me not to leave the house unless I first told him when and where I was going,” Kardashian said. “Sometimes, Damon would not allow me to leave. For example, he would not allow me to go to the mall alone, or with friends. He told me that he did not want men to have an opportunity to ‘hit’ on me. He would not allow me to go out to dinner with friends I have known since I was a child. If Damon were not home, I was required to call him and ask permission to leave the house.”
But things got much worse. Kardashian claims Thomas started hitting her soon after they were married and cited multiple instances in court papers. In one example, the KKW Beauty queen said Thomas got violent over the fact that she was paging someone. “He became enraged and punched me in the face. My face was bruised and swollen as a result,” she said. “I thought about calling the police but was afraid and decided not to do so. On another occasion, we were at the marital residence and had an argument. He grabbed my arm and slammed me against the sliding mirror of the closet in our bedroom.”
They Divorced In 2004
Kardashian said the abusive behavior continued even after the couple separated in 2003. According to her court papers, Thomas had a fit when she came to the house they once shared to pick up some of her belongings.
“He came at me and slammed me against the closet wall,” she detailed. “He held me up against the wall with his hands around my neck and threatened to choke me. He then took one hand and punched the wall right next to my head. He then grabbed me by my hair and told me to get out. He put one hand against my back and pushed me up the stairs (the front door is on the ground level and the bedroom is one level below ground). At the top of the stairs, he threw me across the room and I hit my head against the front door. I got up and ran out of the house. I was frightened.”
Shortly after their separation, Thomas filed for divorce. He denied ever laying a hand on his former wife and claimed she had been cheating on him. He also said a number of unflattering things about Kardashian in an interview with In Touch. “Kim is obsessed with fame,” he told the tabloid. “She can’t write or sing or dance, so she does harmful things in order to validate herself in the media. That’s a fame-whor* to me. It’s just not cool at all.”
Despite having such a bitter ending to her first marriage, Kardashian refused to let it spoil her true feelings about love. “I think I’ll always be a hopeless romantic,” she admitted in a 2011 interview with Glamour. “I believe in love and the dream of having a perfect relationship, but my idea of it has changed. I think I need to not live in a fairytale like that. I think I maybe need to just snap out of it and be a little more realistic.”
Where Is Damon Thomas Now?
Damon Thomas is currently the CEO and owner of Thomas Krown Records. The label has worked with many big-time artists, including Justin Beiber, Babyface, Justin Timberlake, Toni Braxon, and Beyonce. Thomas also continues to work on projects outside of his label, including arranging the music for the movie Straight Outta Compton and producing the soundtracks for Pitch Perfect, Pitch Perfect 2, The Help, and Dreamgirls. As far as his personal life goes, Thomas is dad to a 14-year-old son named Dimas Thomas, who he shares with his ex-partner, ex, Sarai Torres.
Not much more is known about Thomas today—while he is successful and still working steadily, the producer prefers to keep a low profile. Which is another clear indication that he was not the right match for a reality show queen like Kim Kardashian.
