Which one of Kim Kardashian’s ex-husbands now works in a very normal job, serving chicken and chips to customers?
15 years after their split, he’s happier than ever living ‘under the radar’ with his fast-food empire
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries attend the Amber Fashion Show held at the Meridien Beach Plaza
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She’s currently in her Formula 1 wife era, being in the throes of romance with racing driver Lewis Hamilton, after her marriages to a record producer, an NBA star and a rapper – but while she’s living the high life, one of Kim Kardashian’s ex-husbands is a fast-food entrepreneur and loving his new low-key life.Once known for his prowess on the basketball court, playing for the NBA’s top teams like Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors, Kim’s second husband, Kris Humphries, has swapped being courtside for the kitchen, and he’s all the happier for it. 15 years after their split, the former sportsman – who famously married the reality star for 72 days in 2011 – runs Dave’s Hot Chicken restaurants in Minnesota. He’s been working on the franchise venture since he retired from professional basketball in 2019.‘Since I’ve stepped away from the game, I’m trying to stay under the radar and work on a new phase of my life,’ he said. ‘I’ve been developing some business ventures.’Kris, 41, launched his first franchise restaurant near Ridgedale Centre in Minnetonka, Minneapolis, in 2023. ‘I’m familiar with the area: we used to come over to the mall a lot after school. So I thought it would be cool to do the first one near where I used to go to school,’ he said.
Kris Humphries
The following year, he signed on to launch ten more throughout Minnesota, with the help of his family: parents William and Debra and cousin Alex. Their latest restaurant in Oak Park Heights – their eighth eatery – opened in June.The restaurants have become such a runaway success that the former power forward has already signed up to open 30 more locations across the Twin Cities in Minnesota and surrounding counties last September.While his social media accounts were previously packed with basketball content, now his grid is filled with chicken challenges and cheese sticks – a sharp contrast from his ex-wife’s Instagram promoting her SKIMS line. Dave’s Hot Chicken is known for its Nashville-style spicy chicken, chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, mini sliders and of course, fries.This isn’t Kris’ first foray into food – he invested in Five Guys during his NBA career, and owned 10 diners across Minnesota and became a franchise partner for Crisp & Green health-focused restaurants.
Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian attend Duane McLaughlin's "Ready To Live" album release party at Utopia III
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While this may seem like an unexpected twist, viewers of Keeping Up With The Kardashians would not be too surprised by Kris’ career pivot. The couple, who had a whirlwind romance after meeting in 2010, clashed over his hopes to return to Minnesota, away from Kim’s Hollywood home.‘I’m never moving to Minnesota. Ever,’ she told him on an episode of Kourtney And Kim Take New York. ‘How am I going to have my career and live in Minnesota?’ to which he told her, ‘Baby, by the time you have kids and they’re in school, and all that, no one will probably care about you. Let’s be honest.’Kim, 45, and Kris had one of the shortest marriages in Hollywood history. The worlds of sport and reality collided when they met in October 2010, after she saw him playing at a New Jersey Nets basketball game and was introduced by their mutual friend Kris’ teammate Jordan Farmar. Seven months later, in May 2011, they were engaged. The couple married at a private estate facing the ocean in Montecito, California, on 20 August, with the run-up to their lavish nuptials covered by a two-part TV special and the big day airing on E!But just 72 days after they walked up the aisle, their relationship came crashing down when it was announced that Kim had filed for divorce, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’. In December 2011, he filed his response to her petition, requesting an annulment on the grounds of fraud.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West leave the Valentino Haute-Couture Show as part of Paris Fashion Week Fall / Winter 2012/2013 at Hotel Salomon de Rothschild
©Getty Images
Kim later admitted that while she had entered the marriage for love, she had gotten swept up in the pressure and hype of the television production and realised after the honeymoon that they were incompatible. ‘At the time… I just thought, “Holy s**t, I’m 30 years old, I better get this together. I'd better get married,’ she said. ‘We’re filming this for a TV show. If I leave, I’m going to be known as the runaway bride forever, and it’s going to be a huge joke.’It was her second marriage, following her union with music producer Damon Thomas when she was 19, which lasted three years until 2003.While Kim and Kris’ marriage lasted less than three months, the consequent estrangement lasted nearly two years. Rumours flew that it was all a publicity stunt to promote the Kardashians’ brand and subsequent TV ventures, which the family denied. Kim and Kris reached a divorce settlement in April 2013, and their divorce was finalised in June 2013, by which time Kim was already loved up with rapper Kanye West and heavily pregnant with their daughter North – despite still being legally married to Kris.She later said that she owed Kris an apology for the way their short-lived marriage and years-long divorce were handled, but admitted, ‘I tried to. I tried calling him for months. I handled it totally the wrong way. I fully broke up with him in the worst way, and I couldn’t – I just didn’t know how to deal. I learned so much from it.’The pair once bumped into each other at the Beverly Hills Hotel, while Kim was with North and pregnant with Saint, but Kris gave her the cold shoulder. ‘We had the tables next to each other. All of his friends got up and said hi to me, and he literally just looked at me and wouldn’t even speak to me,’ she said.It wasn’t to be a happy ever after for Kim and Kanye either, who split in 2021 after nine years together and four children – North, 13, Saint, ten, Chicago, eight, and Psalm, seven. She’s now dating racing ace Lewis, while Kanye is married to architect Bianca Censori. Kris, meanwhile, has kept out of the spotlight, away from the cameras, which he’s more than happy with.‘At the end of the day, I’m just a guy from Minnesota who loves the game of basketball,’ he said in 2019. ‘I never wanted to be that guy.’
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