Does any celebrity have a story that’s more tragic than Lamar Odom’s?
Well, probably, but still, Lamar has dealt with some unimaginable things in his 37 years, and that much is undeniable.
Lamar’s father was a heroin addict, and even in recent years, he’s been in and out of his life. His mother died from colon cancer when he was 12.
He went on to have an extremely successful career in the NBA, but obviously that didn’t last.
Lamar hasn’t played professional basketball since 2013 — about the same time he fell deep into addiction.
That addiction led to him losing his wife, Khloe Kardashian, and almost losing his life. Who could forget his 2015 overdose, the one that very nearly killed him?
But, according to a new interview with Lamar’s first ex-wife, Liza Morales, his drug use began because of another loss in his life.
The loss of his infant son, Jayden.
Jayden was Lamar and Liza’s third child — they also share a daughter, Destiny, and a son, Lamar Jr. — and he was born in 2005.
He passed away when he was just six months old from SIDS, and his death obviously had a huge impact on Lamar and Liza.
But, as Liza explains in an interview with Radar Online, “I leaned on my spirituality. I leaned heavily on my family, my friends.”
“And he didn’t.”
“There was a lot of denial,” she continues.
“When it comes to an addict, you cannot force them to get help, you cannot want it more than them. Back then we wanted it more than him.”
Lamar’s daughter, Destiny, who’s 17 years old now, elaborates on that in her own interview, this one with People.
“I’ve had conversations with him just letting him know that I want him to get help,” she says.
“But at the end of the day he’s a grown man and you have to want it for yourself.”
She also reveals that after his 2015 overdose, the entire family thought “he was going to pass away,” and when he didn’t, she gave him a choice.
“I basically gave him the ultimatum that it was rehab or him not speaking to me anymore.”
Destiny then opens up about Lamar’s relationship with Khloe, which she calls “toxic.”
“Things changed when my dad married Khloe,” she says. “Things were a lot more public.”
“When your dad’s an NBA player, that’s already enough, but when he’s marrying a reality TV star, things are so public that you don’t have a private life anymore.”
Destiny, who was 11 years old when Khloe and Lamar got married, adds that “It was crazy that my dad was getting married to this woman that I used to watch religiously.”
“It was a whirlwind, really.”
And though she struggled with that marriage, she says “I wouldn’t say it was a matter of my dad loving Khloe more than me.”
“I think my dad has an addictive personality, so he was addicted to the attention he got with Khloe more than me.”
She says that “there were regular snide comments at school” about the marriage, “and when his addiction became public, then it became a social media thing.”
“Even people that I thought were my friends were saying stuff on social media. It was humiliating.”
Thankfully, Lamar seems to be doing somewhat better these days, and it looks like his relationship with his children is improving.
And hey, from where he was, there’s nowhere to go but up, you know?