Khloe Kardashian’s ex Tristan Thompson shares 40th birthday tribute

Khloe Kardashian received a gushing birthday tribute from ex Tristan Thompson on Thursday to celebrate her 40th birthday – as the sports player labeled her his ‘best friend.’

The TV personality – who additionally received sweet birthday wishes from family members such as her older sister Kim Kardashian – later reposted one of Thompson’s messages to her own Instagram stories. 

One throwback image shared by Tristan was captured as they stood underneath a roof of neon lights outdoors, with the star writing, ‘You are my best friend.’

Tristan also uploaded a photo of the reality star as she posed with his brother Amari and wrote, ‘And the most incredible human being I’ve ever met.’

Khloe reposted the picture to her own stories and replied with, ‘Thank you TT! I appreciate this! I love my Amari.’ 

Click here to resize this module

Lastly, Thompson included a sweet photo of the Good American founder and their daughter True, six. ‘You are the best mom,’ he added in text towards the top of the snap.  

Khloe began dating the Cleveland Cavaliers star in 2016 – with the pair welcoming their first child, True, in April 2018. 

However, Tristan cheated on the TV personality when she was pregnant with their daughter. After the shock news broke, the pair remained together. 

In response to a social media user on Twitter that same year, Khloe had expressed, ‘You have no knowledge of what goes on in our household or the enormous rebuilding this takes to even coexist.’

‘I’m proud of my strength. I appreciate your opinion and I hope you hold that same opinion to everyone else who has stayed in situations.’ 

The following year in 2019, the two split after Thompson kissed Kylie Jenner’s former BFF Jordyn Woods at a party – but reconciled during the Covid-19 pandemic after they quarantined together. 

In June 2021, the pair once again ended their relationship, while a source told Us Weekly at the time that the stars ‘remain amicable toward each other and will continue to coparent.’ 

Later that same year, Maralee Nichols sued Tristan for child support after she welcomed their son earlier that month. 

She had become pregnant when Thompson was still dating Khloe – and after taking a paternity test, it was confirmed that he was the father of the baby boy. 

The basketball pro issued an apology to Khloe, stating, ‘you don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you.’ 

‘You don’t deserve the way I have treated you over the years. My actions certainly have not lined up with the way I view you. I have the utmost respect and love for you. Regardless of what you may think. Again, I am so incredibly sorry.’ 

On July 28, 2022, the pair welcomed their second child – son Tatum – via surrogate. 

Along with his son, Theo, whom he shares with Nichols, Thompson is also father to Prince. He welcomed the baby boy with ex, Jordan Craig. 

Last year in October 2023, it was revealed that he owed Craig $224,000 in child support for son Prince.   

Following his numerous cheating scandals, both he and Khloe have seemingly put the past behind them. Earlier this month, the pair were seen grabbing a bite to eat together at Nobu in Malibu. 

And during an episode of Hulu’s The Kardashians which also aired in June, the beauty revealed whether the ‘door is closed’ regarding rekindling a romance with the NBA player. 

‘I don’t want to [date]. Once I’m done with the kids at 9, I have limited time. 9:30-4pm, that’s my time. I’m not sharing it with a man. I’m not sharing my TV, I’m not sharing my bed,’ Khloe said.  

When questioned by Scott Disick if there was ‘any hope for Tristan’ for them to get back together in the future, she revealed that the ‘door is closed.’

In a confessional, the businesswoman added, ‘Are you kidding me? This is life. We all gotta grow up and move on. I feel like everyone has been really judgy about how I spend my time because I’m not dating.’ 

‘I stopped dating Tristan when Tatum was in utero. 2.5 years without dating is not that crazy.’ 

Also on Thursday, Khloe penned a birthday tribute to herself which included racy snaps as well as a clip of herself glammed up during a special celebration. 

Her brother, Rob Kardashian, also made a rare appearance in the video as Khloe blew out candles on a sugary cake in front of her. 

She penned to her fans, ‘Deeply Grateful For Every Moment. I love you! I am so excited and thankful for this fresh decade and all it has in store!!!’ 

Kim Kardashian also shared sweet words to Khloe – after comparing her to Brendan Fraser’s character The Whale on this week’s The Kardashians episode.

The SKIMS founder took to Instagram and wrote, ‘Welcome to the f***ing 40 club. I feel like you have been waiting for years to finally be done with your 30’s and the time has now come.’ 

‘I know this will be the best decade of your life filled with so much love and happiness! I’m so excited for you to experience this because I know how good it is, and no one deserves this more than you!’

Giving a nod to their adventures thus far, the Kardashians star added, ‘What a crazy life we live! I couldn’t do it without you by my side! Thanks for being the best friend and sister a girl could ever dream of. Happy Birthday.’

Alongside the touching words, Kim added a slew of throwback photos of herself and Khloe dressed to the nines.

Momager Kris Jenner also wished Khloe a happy birthday in on Instagram and applauded her for being a ‘remarkable’ mom.