<p id=”par-1_64″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/kanye-west/?swcfpc=1″>Kanye “Ye” West</a> and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/bianca-censori-believes-kanye-wests-antics-will-pass-source-says.html/”>Bianca Censori continue to make headlines</a> in 2025. The <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kanye-wests-wedding-bianca-censori-opposite-of-kim-kardashians-according-source.html/”>couple secretly tied the knot</a> in December 2022, just months after West and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/kim-kardashian/?swcfpc=1″>Kim Kardashian</a> finalized their divorce. Before West dated Kardashian, he had a relationship with aspiring actor Brooke Crittendon. Here’s what Crittendon revealed regarding how West would “take cues” from Jay-Z, which may have influenced his want for children.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-kanye-ye-west-s-ex-girlfriend-said-west-takes-cues-from-jay-z”>Kanye ‘Ye’ West’s ex-girlfriend said West ‘takes cues’ from Jay-Z </h2>
<p id=”par-2_80″>The Kanye “Ye” West that the public knows in 2025 is likely a lot different than the West that Brooke Crittendon dated from 2004 to 2006. After the couple’s relationship ended, Crittendon opened up about West’s insecurities. She also discussed how Kim Kardashian appeared to “fit into his brand.” Kardashian and West started dating in April 2012 and announced they were expecting <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kanye-wests-daughter-north-west-taking-style-cues-bianca-censori.html/”>their first child, North</a>, in December that same year. The couple tied the knot in May 2014. </p>
<p id=”par-3_68″>“I know he has had a thing with her for a while,” Crittendon told The Sun in early 2013, according to <a href=”https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kanye-west-ex-kim-kardashian-relationship_n_2516656″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>HuffPost</a>. “I’m sure he watched her [sex] tape. After we broke up, we caught up as friends, and he mentioned her, I knew something was there … them being together satisfies them for now. Having a baby ticks a box. She wanted kids, and it’s his legacy.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_32″>Crittendon noted how West started settling down and having children with Kardashian after he noticed Jay-Z and Beyoncé started their family. Jay-Z and Beyoncé had Blue Ivy Carter in January 2012. </p>
<p id=”par-5_28″>“He admires Jay-Z, and they are very close,” Crittendon explained. “Over the years Jay has been a role model for him, and he ultimately takes cues from him.”</p>
<p id=”par-6_27″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/jay-z-explained-relationship-kanye-west-complicated.html/”>Jay-Z has commented on his “complicated relationship”</a> with West. While the two have feuded in the past, they seem to have settled on a mutual respect. </p>
<p id=”par-7_77″>“It’s a complicated relationship with us,” Jay-Z once told The New York Times, according to <a href=”https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a13992950/jay-z-kanye-west-feud-nyt-interview/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Cosmopolitan</a>. “Kanye came into this business on my label. So, I’ve always been, like, his big brother. And we’re both entertainers. It’s always been like a little underlying competition with your big brother. And we both love and respect each other’s art, too. So it’s like, we both — everyone wants to be the greatest in the world. You know what I’m saying?”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-kanye-west-once-explained-how-he-felt-alive-and-energized-after-seeing-his-kids”>Kanye West once explained how he felt ‘alive’ and ‘energized’ after seeing his kids</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Kanye-West-North-West-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Kanye West in a blue coat walking next to his daughter, North West, in 2020″ class=”wp-image-3782813″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Rapper Kanye West seen leaving Michiko Sushino restaurant with his daughter, North West, in 2020 | Neil Mockford/GC Images</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-8_38″>Kanye West received flack in 2024 for spending most of his time abroad while his four kids stayed in Los Angeles with Kim Kardashian. Kardashian and West share North, 11, Saint, 9, Chicago, 6, and Psalm, 5. </p>
<p id=”par-9_25″>While Kardashian appears to do most of the day-to-day parenting for their kids, West once shared how he felt “energized” after seeing his children. </p>
<p id=”par-10_82″>“I couldn’t even rap; I couldn’t do anything after North wasn’t allowed to go to <em>Donda 2</em>,” West said in a clip shared to <a href=”https://www.reddit.com/r/Kanye/comments/txj17i/ye_on_how_his_relationship_with_his_children/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Reddit</a>. “It paralyzed me. I had verses to finish. I just couldn’t. … It was done, at that point. … I went on vacation and came back, and I saw my children, and I felt energized. So now, yeah, that was a form of kryptonite that was on me. And after I saw them, I felt alive again.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-kim-kardashian-discussed-the-changing-relationship-she-has-with-north-west”>Kim Kardashian discussed the changing relationship she has with North West</h2>
<p id=”par-11_52″>Kim Kardashian has a complicated relationship with North West. In a February 2025 episode of <em>The Kardashians</em>, she explained how her daughter spent a year “mad” at her. The negative attitude seemed to happen when Kardashian and Kanye West divorced. Kardashian previously revealed how North hoped to live with her father full-time.</p>
<p id=”par-12_13″>“I think it was all the divorce,” Kardashian noted. “It’s insane, the turnaround.”</p>
<p id=”par-13_20″>The episode shows Kardashian telling her sister how North is now “obsessed” with her and “calls” her “with her friends.”</p>
<p id=”par-14_18″>“Like, ‘Mom, I love you. You’re the best mom, I love you so much,’” Kardashian said of North.</p>
<p id=”par-15_32″>North still has a close relationship with her father. West shared clips of him and North in the studio in early 2025 as he helped his little girl make new tracks. </p>
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