HE was once married to the world’s most famous woman – yet in 2026, the life of Kim Kardashian’s ex Kris Humphries is relatively unknown.
It was the 2011 wedding that was dubbed the ‘real Royal Wedding’ after Kim and Kris managed to get more people talking about their million dollar nuptials than that of William and Kate’s wedding just months prior.
Kris Humphires was once married to the most famous woman in the world Credit: HULU
But these days Kris Humphries spends his days running fried chicken shops Credit: Instagram/ krishumphries
Over 10 million people tuned into the FOUR HOUR TV event that saw Kim and Kris say ‘I do’ in August 2011.
But who could forget when just 72 days later, Kim opted to start the legal procedings for a divorce after the marriage crumbled in front of the world.
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Their entire year-long romance – which ran from October 2010 to the following October – was documented on Keeping up with the Kardashians and it’s various spin-offs and turned then-relatively unknown pro US basketball player Kris into a global household name.
But following Hollywood‘s biggest wedding came one of the entertainment industry’s most talked-about divorces.
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Kim and Kris’ wedding was the most-talked about ceremony in recent Hollywood history Credit: HULU
Over 10million people tuned in to watch the wedding Credit: HULU
Kris has since shunned fame and spends his days working in Dave’s Hot Chicken Credit: Instagram
It is a far cry from his glam life with Kim Credit: Getty
After an 18-month legal battle over whether Kim’s divorce petition should be accepted – or if Kris’ requests for a marriage annulment based on fraud – they eventually legally separated in June 2013 – just 12 days before Kim gave birth to her first child, North, with then new-boyfriend, rapper Kanye West.
But after Kim’s divorce was granted and she clapped eyes on Kris for the last time in the court house, little has ever been seen, or heard of from her ex.
Despite having a huge global platform, Kris shunned any form of being in the spotlight.
Now, having retired from professional sports, Kris is living a VERY normal life running fried chicken shops across Minnesota.
In a far contrast from Kim’s billionaire designer life, Kris instead runs a number of Dave’s Hot Chicken franchises in his home state.
As a franchisor and investor in the business, Kris has been actively involved in the day-to-day workings of the fast-food restaurants across the state.
Kris was a relatively unknown basketball player before he married Kim Credit: Getty
But their romance quickly crumbled Credit: Getty
He has also recruited other family members into the fast-food industry, with them also holding licenses for various Five Guys and Crisp & Green eateries in the local area.
Kris is dedicated to working full-time in the stores and litters his social media feed with snaps of his days inside the takeaway outlets.
From sampling the menu to showing off various items that he has on offer, Kris has made it known that he is far from a silent partner and has turned running the fast-food chains into his passion.
Whilst Kris was used to being able to get a table at any restaurant he wanted in the world during his marriage to Kim, his current dining choices look very different.
Kris has rarely spoken about his decision to shun fame but did admit in a rare interview after retiring from basketball that he was keen to avoid a showbiz lifestyle and focus on his takeaways.
He said: “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.
“I’ve been developing some business ventures.”
Then confirming the chicken shop launch a few years ago, Kris said: “Super excited to bring Dave’s Hot Chicken to Minnesota with my family.
Kris chooses to keep out of the spotlight Credit: Instagram/krishumphries
His social media is instead littered with his fast food chains Credit: Instagram
“This is the best chicken ever! Get ready Minnesota.”
Kris has virtually never discussed his marriage to Kim since their split and the final divorce hearing in 2013.
As part of the divorce settlement, Kim claims that Kris requested the ring he got her back.
Kim agreed, despite claiming after the marriage that she paid 80% of the cost of the flashy diamond.
Following the divorce, Kris auctioned it for just under $750,000 – and suggested he would donate the money to charity.
Although there was much speculation that their marriage was merely a publicity stunt for TV, Kim has maintained she did fall for Kris but confessed in 2021 that she quickly got caught up in her own whirlwind and felt pressure to move the relationship on quicker than she should have – something she concedes led to the eventual marriage breakdown.
Speaking on the final ever episode of KUWTK in 2021, Kim admitted: “I thought, ‘Okay, 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, and I think I just have cold feet.’
“So I was like, ‘Okay guys, it’s just cold feet, I got this, it’s cold feet, we’re filming the show.’”
Kim further admitted that she long-dreamed of a glitzy over-the-top wedding and reveals she spent her’s and Kris’ entire fees for filming the wedding – which were believed to be well into the millions – as well as the show’s production money on the huge ceremony.
She said: “The show paid us, obviously, a fee to film the show.
“I took my entire fee and probably Kris’ because I wanted a bigger wedding than what they were going to pay for.
“So I used all of our production money on the wedding, right.
“So, if that was fake, I would have saved my money.”
When the marriage came to an end after 72 days, Kim and Kris had been living together in a small apartment in NYC with her sister, Kourtney.
They had been filming a spin-off TV show at the time with Kim going on to admit that she “freaked out” at how her married life started and later stated that she felt she handled the break-up “badly”.
Further adding in 2021, Kim said: “He had a size like, 17 shoes lined up around my whole room and I just freaked the f*** out.
“I literally got claustrophobic.
“I was so nervous to break up with someone, 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.”
When asked if she felt she owed Kris an apology, Kim said she did but her efforts in the months following the divorce went unnoticed.
Kim said: “Absolutely [I owe an apology], and I tried to.
“I tried calling him for months.”
Whilst Kris has remained in dignified silence, the same cannot be said for many of the other Kardashian exes.
Kim’s sex tape partner Ray J has regularly hit out at the star with Khloe’s ex-husband, Lamar Odom, regularly appearing on TV to talk about his failed marriage.
Rob’s former fiance, Blac Chyna, has also never shied away from speaking about her failed romance with a member of the family.
