The Truth About The Time Lamar Odom Went Missing

Even if you aren't a basketball fan, you're sure to recognize Lamar Odom from his tumultuous relationship with Khloe Kardashian. The two spent the late aughts plastered across tabloid magazines for their whirlwind romance. After having just met a month earlier, the basketball player and reality star married in September 2009, only to have Khloé file for divorce — twice — and end the relationship officially in December 2016, per The Hollywood Reporter.

During their roughly seven years together, the pair had plenty of drama, which was aired for all of the world to see on "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," and the couple's own spinoff, "Khloé & Lamar." Cheating scandals, Lamar's battle with addiction, and his DUI arrest in 2013 rocked the couple during their time together, and Khloé's been quite honest about it. Despite their hardships, she told Howard Stern on his radio show in 2016 that she had no regrets. "It was just the most intense relationship I've ever had in a great way," Khloé said. "But looking back in hindsight, would I say 'oh, yeah probably should you have waited a little bit?' Sure. But also, I don't regret doing it."

Out of all of the ups and downs, 2013 proved to be an especially rocky time for the couple, after Lamar was reported missing for three days.

The former basketball player Lamar Odom has had a rough history with drug addiction and it all finally came to light when TMZ reported the apparent drug abuse in early 2013. Just days after reporting Lamar's addiction problems, TMZ then reported on August 25, 2013, that Lamar had allegedly been missing for three days. According to the outlet, his then-wife Khloe Kardashian and family on both sides could not reach Lamar for several days and feared he was out on a drug binge. However, Agent Jeff Schwartz refuted this, telling ESPN, "Lamar is not missing. His wife knows exactly where he is." ESPN also reported that Lamar was at a LA hotel where friends were urging him to seek help, according to ESPN's unspecified source.

While it's never been confirmed as to what exactly Lamar was up to those three days, Khloe didn't appreciate the speculation and tweeted, "Really hard to sit here and listen to people talk s*** about my family! F*** you and shame on you! I'm too protective for this s***!"

After the whole ordeal heightened even more when on August 30, 2013, Odom was arrested for a DUI misdemeanor, according to USA Today. We can only assume that all of this played a major role in Khloé's decision to file for divorce from Lamar in December 2013.

After Khloe Kardashian initially filed for divorce in 2013, she became much more vocal about Lamar Odom's cheating. She also told Howard Stern that finding out her then-husband was cheating on her throughout their marriage was "humiliating on any level," and dished how all of the evidence was on his assistant's phone.

Things infamously came to a head when Lamar almost died after being found unresponsive at a Nevada brothel. He later admitted to Us Weekly that he had suffered 12 strokes and two heart attacks from the drug overdose and said, "I'm a walking miracle." Although they were separated at the time, Khloé came to his side and rescinded the previously filed divorce papers in order to be there for his recovery, then finalized the divorce at the end of 2016.

Thankfully, Lamar is in a much better place nowadays than the time he spent using drugs and cheating on his wife. Although he may not be so well-off in the relationship department — he split from his ex-fiancée Sabrina Parr last year — he is reportedly drug-free. In a December 2021 Instagram story, he wrote (via Us Weekly), "Today, I am free. Drug free. Marijuana free. Relationship free. I am rebuilding a relationship with myself. With my family. I am focused on my faith. My growth. My brand. I am a legend. I own that. I am a recovering addict. I own that too." 

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).