A look at Kanye West’s dating history before Kim Kardashian and Irina Shayk

Rapper Kanye West is reportedly dating model Irina Shayk, with their trip to France together (and the resulting paparazzi pictures) becoming the tastiest gossip fodder. Neither of them have made mention of this so-called romance, but a source told Page Six: “It’s casual at the moment, but they are into each other. It’s been going on for a few weeks now.”

West is in the middle of a divorce from Kim Kardashian, who he started dating in 2012 and married in 2014. In their heyday, the couple, formerly known as ‘Kimye’, was also the talk of the town and made many, many headlines for their sometimes strange relationship; West allegedly used to control Kardashian’s style and once made her cry when he threw out a bunch of her clothes and shoes. Amid the end of Kimye and his new possible love interest, here’s a look at the rapper’s part relationships.

West had a high school sweetheart Sumeke Rainey and he was so smitten with her that he made reference to Rainey in his song 2004 ‘Never Let Me Down’. “Nothing sad as that day my girl’s father passed away / So I promised to Mr. Rainey I’m gonna marry your daughter,” he rapped.

The rapper and designer Alexis Phifer had an on-and-off relationship between 2002 until 2008. West even asked her to marry him in 2006 however, reports say their relationship took a dive after West’s mother Donda died in 2007 and they called off the engagement the next year. “It’s always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends,” Phifer told People. “I wish him the best in his future and all of his endeavours. He’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met.”

West struck up a romance with actress Brooke Crittendon in 2004 when he was not dating Phifer. She even attended the 2006 Grammys with him and his mother. However, they split up a few months later. In future interviews, Crittendon said the break-up was amicable.

The rapper famously dated model Amber Rose for two years beginning in 2008 and after they broke up in 2010, Rose made some major allegations about why they had split up in the first place. “Kim is one of the main reasons why me and Kanye are not together,” Rose told Star magazine in 2012. “She’s a homewrecker!” Later, West made negative comments about Rose in the press, leading to her calling him out on Twitter.

Before he started his relationship with Kardashian, West reportedly dated model and actress Selita Ebanks (pictured), who had starred in the music video for his track ‘Runaway’. He was also rumoured to have dated model Chanel Iman, however she brushed off those claims saying they were just friends.

Who is Irina Shayk? The Russian model is known for previously dating Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. She was later in a relationship with ‘A Star is Born’ actor Bradley Cooper (pictured) and had a daughter, Lea De Seine, with him in 2017. They broke up in June 2019.