Khloé Kardashian Opens Up About Protecting Kylie and Kendall Jenner from the Fallout of Her Divorce with Lamar Odom to Maintain Their Innocence

There’s much that Kendall and Kylie Jenner were unaware of during the fallout between Khloé Kardashian and Lamar Odom.

In the season 6 finale of The Kardashians, Kylie and Kendall engaged in a conversation with their sister about her emotional reunion with Lamar earlier this season. This discussion revealed Kendall’s critique of how Khloé approached the conversation, while also shedding light on the younger sisters’ limited knowledge of their relationship with the former NBA player.

“There’s so much that you kept from us — in a good way, not in a bad way, because we were so young,” Kendall, 29, remarked. “It was so rated R. I don’t expect anything else. But it’s interesting because Kylie and I actually don’t know a lot of it.”

Kylie, 27, resonated with her sister’s sentiment, adding, “I feel like he really was a huge part of the family and like a big brother to me. We had a silly, funny relationship.”

In a confessional, Khloé, 40, acknowledged that she “sheltered” Kendall and Kylie from many details during her divorce since they were young. She also recognized how they viewed Lamar, 45.

“I didn’t want to ruin that for them, and I just wanted to preserve as much of their innocence as I could,” she explained.

At that moment, Kendall expressed to Khloé that she could sense Khloé was “shut off” during her reunion with Lamar, the first since their 2016 divorce, which followed his near-fatal drug overdose.

“It wasn’t that you were being blatantly mean or rude; it was just like, are you worried that people will judge how you handle it? Or are you just more guarded? I don’t know,” she elaborated.

“I see such a hostility still, and almost like — there’s definitely a wall, definitely a coldness,” Kendall said in her confessional. “I’m sure it’s anger. I’m sure there are many reasons for that.”

Khloé admitted that she started to feel anxious without even realizing it when she was with Lamar. “The tardiness, the sweating, things that might trigger me. I just thought, I have to get through this,” she explained.

She added, “Maybe I’m so used to people nitpicking the smallest gesture I make, and I want to avoid anyone reading too much into it since it’s not like that, but part of it is a defense mechanism, making me seem cold.”

Kendall recognized the “trauma” Khloé experienced with Lamar, as well as with her more recent ex Tristan Thompson. She suggested, “At this point, for your own sake, I would almost say you need to find within yourself to forgive. You don’t have to forget.”

This advice was “frustrating” for Khloé, who admitted in her confessional that Kendall and Kylie “don’t really understand” the situation — partly due to how much she had protected them from the details.

“Anyone who knows my situation or has been in it would be a different version of themselves after so many years. It would be foolish not to be. You have to protect yourself and grow,” she stated.

Despite this, the mother of two confessed, “I don’t disagree with Kendall. I think I definitely could have been nicer, or my tone could have been softer. But also, there’s so much happening. I can’t even explain the emotions and thoughts — the last time I was with this person was very contentious and negative. It wasn’t good. So, no, is this my best moment in life? No.”

Season 6 of The Kardashians is available for streaming in full on Hulu.