Why Khloé Kardashian Has ‘Chosen’ to Be Primary Caretaker for Ex Tristan Thompson’s Brother Amari

“Amari deserves my love and care, regardless of where me and Tristan stand,” Khloé Kardashian shared

From left: Amari Thompson and Khloé Kardashian.Credit : 

Khloe Kardashian/Instagram

During an “Ask Me Anything” episode of her podcast Khloé in Wonder Land on July 30, the Kardashians star, 41, addressed why she stepped in to help with Amari, 18, after the death of Tristan’s mother, Andrea Thompson, in January 2023.

“For those who don’t know, Tristan has a younger brother who is 18 years old, and he is severely disabled. Amari has LGS (Lennox-Gastaut syndrome), which is a form of epilepsy, and he is disabled,” she explained. “He can’t walk or talk. He’s never been able to talk.”

Noting that Andrea was “the sole caretaker for Amari” when the family lived in Canada, she shared that “we —  me, Tristan, my whole family — took Amari back with us to the States” after her death.

From left: Amari, Tristan, Tatum and True Thompson.realtristan13/Instagram

However, Tristan’s busy NBA schedule doesn’t allow him to care for his brother full-time, according to Kardashian.

“Tristan is in the NBA, and he is in a different state literally every other day or every few days, and it’s just not conducive for Amari to be on that many planes,” she said. “Amari has a handful of seizures a day with the type of epilepsy that he has.”

“So Amari stays in LA with me, and I have chosen to take care of him and be there for him, because it’s not good that he travels,” she continued.

The Good American co-founder shared that she loves “having Amari be a part of my family.”

After giving credit to her “two sensational caretakers for Amari,” Kardashian explained that “we just want to provide Amari with the best, most beautiful life that we know how. And he deserves that.”

From left: Amari Thompson and Khloé Kardashian.khloe kardashian/Instagram

The television personality opened up about why having Amari be a part of her family is beneficial for her kids — True and Tatum, who she shares with Tristan — and their extended family. 

“I think it’s so important for my kids, my nieces and nephews, to be exposed to all different types of people in the world,” she shared. “I think it teaches everyone compassion, understanding. It opens up their minds to seeing, wow, Amari is disabled, sure, but he’s also just like us at the same time.”

“And I love seeing how Amari lights up when he’s around the kids. He can’t verbally talk, but if you know him well enough, he can definitely express himself, and you see the glimmer in his eyes. And he’s just such an amazing, amazing young man. And I’m so proud and honored that I have Amari in my life.”

Kardashian also addressed questions about why she would help Amari when she is no longer romantically involved with Tristan.

“People are always like, why did I do that? Me and Tristan aren’t together, why would I take on helping with Amari?” she said. “But when I met Tristan and his family, oh my gosh, like nine, almost 10 years ago, which is crazy. When I met them, Andrea, Tristan’s mom and I, we became such good friends.”

Recalling her “great relationship” with Tristan’s late mother, she added, “I would help her with Amari medically. She would have questions. She would need connections to certain doctors, and I would help with that. So I was very much involved in all of his medical appointments when Andrea was here.”

“I also know how much Amari means to Andrea, and she passed away because she had a sudden heart attack. Me being in a relationship or not with Tristan, I still have this family that I’ve spent so many years with, that I have such connections with that, my relationship with Andrea has nothing to do with Tristan, and my commitment to her has nothing to do with Tristan, and Amari deserves someone who will be there for him, take care of him, provide a great lifestyle for him and so Amari deserves my love and care, regardless of where me and Tristan stand.”

From left: Amari Thompson and Khloé Kardashian.Khloe Kardashian Instagram

After Andrea’s death, Tristan became Amari’s primary caregiver, and by September 2023, the NBA star had filed to become his brother’s legal guardian.

In an April episode of The Kardashians, Khloé and Tristan celebrated Amari’s 18th birthday.

“I appreciate you putting this all together. It’s definitely a special day,” Tristan said at the time. “I know Mommy is happy and she’s smiling down on us.”

In her own confessional, Khloé reflected on her relationship with Amari, as she said, “Amari has never and will never be a burden or anything like that. Amari is one of the most special souls I have ever met.”

Khloé also supported Amari as he performed at a dance recital and shared sweet snaps of the 18-year-old at the event on her Instagram Stories in May.

Afterwards, Khloé and Amari took a selfie backstage. They were also joined by Khloé’s mother, Kris Jenner, and the trio posed for a photo.

“I love you so much mommy,” she captioned the heartfelt snap. “Thank you for always supporting ALL of us always.”