Season 3 of The Kardashians is just a couple of weeks away, and fans are convinced that they’ve uncovered a major plot point involving Tristan Thompson.
As viewers of the Hulu show will know, Seasons 1 and 2 gave us some pretty detailed insight into Tristan’s infamous paternity scandal, which unfolded publicly in January 2022.
For those who need a quick refresher, Tristan secretly welcomed a child outside of his and Khloé Kardashian’s relationship — while they were quietly engaged and preparing to welcome their second child, no less.
Tristan’s infidelity was exposed when the mother of his secret third child, Maralee Nichols, sued him for several pregnancy and child-related expenses in December 2021.
And The Kardashians made sure to display the very moment that Kim Kardashian discovered these court documents and broke the devastating news to her sister Khloé in the Season 1 finale.
“I’m not fucking lying. And I’m shaking for [Khloé]. My soul kills, dies for her,” Kim told their sister Kylie Jenner over the phone. “The whole thing that’s so sad is that she wants a baby boy. And now this girl is having a fucking baby boy? A fucking random that he sleeps with one night? Fuck him!”
Khloé and Tristan’s second child was eventually born in July, and Season 2 of The Kardashians began with a heartbreaking look at how Tristan’s paternity scandal had hugely tainted the little boy’s birth — similar to how his alleged infidelity in 2018 ruined Khloé’s experience welcoming their first daughter, True.
Season 2 wrapped filming around May 2022, and Tristan remained absent from all of the episodes.
But since then, the KarJenners — and particularly Kim — have remained publicly supportive towards Tristan.
Back in November, for example, Kim caused a huge stir online after sharing a lengthy post about an “inspiring Friendsgiving dinner” she’d had with Tristan at a juvenile detention camp.
Posting a series of photos of herself and Tristan to Instagram, Kim gushed about the Friendsgiving meal they’d had with a group of young men incarcerated at Camp Kilpatrick.
And her followers were quick to question the bizarre post, writing on Reddit, “There is literally zero reason for her to collaborate with him so publicly after what he has put her sister through.”
“I would never in a million years ‘collaborate’ with my sister’s baby daddy/ex who’s cheated on her multiple times. Idc my sister got along with him or not,” someone else added.
In turn, Kim’s friendly post led to heaps of speculation that a Tristan Thompson Redemption Arc could be on the cards in Season 3.
Longtime viewers of Keeping Up With the Kardashians will likely remember Tristan and Khloé rekindled their romance following two of his past cheating scandals. On both occasions, their reunion formed a storyline that was central to the show, and Tristan was ultimately welcomed back into the family with open arms.
And so, several people guessed that Kim posting about her and Tristan’s Friendsgiving meal was an attempt to soft launch yet another redemption arc.
Fast forward to today, and fans are even more convinced that Tristan’s so-called “redemption tour” is well underway after noticing that Kim has been spotted in attendance at several of his basketball games.
Last month, Kim and her mom, Kris Jenner, were photographed sitting courtside at a Lakers game in LA. And Tristan seemed super friendly with the pair, even giving Kris a warm hug in photos snapped before the game began.
And over the weekend, Kim’s public support of Tristan continued. She shared a photo of the athlete playing in Saturday night's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, writing, “Oh hi @realtristan13.”
Then, on Monday, Kim was spotted at yet another one of Tristan’s games — something that raised several eyebrows amongst fans.
But Kim went a step further when she posted a photo of Tristan to her Instagram story alongside a short but sweet message of support. “YESSS GOOOO LAKERS,” she wrote while tagging Tristan in the post, too.
Lo and behold, Kim’s Instagram activity and repeated appearances at the games has once again prompted speculation amongst fans that Season 3 of The Kardashians might just involve an all-too-familiar redemption story involving Tristan.
“I feel like the new season that’s coming later this month is going to include some Tristan redemption arch,” one Reddit user wrote.
“It confuses me how she can sit there and talk shit about this man when he hurts her sister, but then goes and supports him later??!! Like I understand that is the dad of her nieces and nephews, but kim was giving Tristan the MOST backlash when all the multiple cheating scandals happened,” someone else added.
“I just can’t believe how this mans literally trashed and disrespected khloe and kim continues shows her support for whatever this relationship is... why is it always kim tho showing the most support for this cesspool of a man…i haven’t seen any of the other sisters post or interact with him like this much,” another person wrote.
Well, with Season 3 of The Kardashians premiering on Hulu and Disney+ on May 25, we’ll see for ourselves very soon!
