Reminder: Kanye West Was Once Engaged To Someone Else

    No, not Amber Rose. Tomorrow he's marrying Kim Kardashian, but Alexis Phifer was his first muse.

    Naomi Zeichner
    by Naomi Zeichner

    BuzzFeed Staff

    This is Alexis Phifer.

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    She dated Kanye West on and off for six years, starting in 2002.

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    In August 2006, she and Kanye got engaged over a lobster and pasta dinner during a vacation to Capri.

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    They had a fabulous, "fashionable life."

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    Kanye really wasn't so different then. He and Alexis, a designer, liked going to fashion shows.

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    And hanging out in Paris.

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    Then, in November 2007, Kanye was devastated by the tragic death of his mother, Donda.

    Johnny Nunez / WireImage

    In the months after, he threw himself into preparations for 2008's Glow In The Dark tour. He also told GQ that, having confronted how precious life is, he was ready to marry Phifer soon. "I'm just going to go and get married — I'm not going to make a big deal out of it," she said. "I wouldn't get married to prove anything to anyone. It's for me, for stability in my life, and I'm so happy that I found someone that I really love, that challenges me, that keeps my life interesting, that's just as crazy as I am."

    Sources close to Kanye told Us that Kanye was eager to marry Phifer, to honor Donda's wish that they wed. But things went sour a year and a half into the engagement, and the couple officially split in April 2008, two months after this photo was taken.

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    "They'd been having problems," a friend of West's told People. "Kanye is really focused on his show; he's putting everything into the show right now. Alexis is a nice girl, but Kanye has been going through a rough time. They hit a rough patch and for now they've split."

    "It's always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends,” Phifer said at the time. "I wish him the best in his future and all of his endeavors. He's one of the most talented people I've ever met."

    Later that year, Kanye became "obsessed" with Amber Rose. The two dated in 2009.

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    Amber and Kanye split in 2010. Amber blamed this in part on Kim Kardashian, calling Kim a "homewrecker."

    In 2012, Amber Rose told Star that Kim and Kanye had an affair, while Kim was dating NFL player Reggie Bush, and Kanye was with Amber. “She was sending pictures [to Kanye], and I was like, ‘Kim, just stop. Don’t be that person,’” Rose said.

    There's been speculation that Kim had something to do with Kanye's breakup with Alexis too. Kim met Kanye in 2004 — she was first photographed with him (and Alexis) at this 2007 party:

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    Looking back on her engagement to Kanye in a 2011 interview, Phifer said: "It was just a part of my life, but I'm really confident in who I am and what it is I do. Anybody who meets me and gets to know me, I don't think it would sway their decision either way on whether they like me or not."

    Here's Alexis these days, at a party for the 2014 Oscars:

    And looking at #art in April:

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    But listen — what matters right now? Here comes the bride.