Kanye West And Model Irina Shayk Have Reportedly Split — Inside Their Breakup

Prior to dating and marrying Kim Kardashian, Kanye has long been open about his desire and admiration for models. If you're familiar with Kanye's discography, the song "Christian Dior Denim Flow" will instantly ring a bell.

Throughout the song, Kanye makes references to various supermodels in an effort to stop thinking about his broken heart. He names Selita E. Banks, Coca Rocha, Irina Shayk, and Alessandra Ambrosio. Not to mention, he also alludes to wanting to date model Olga Kurylenko. "Get Olga Kurylenko, tell her I'm very single," he raps on the song.

So, it was no surprise to longtime fans that Kanye and Irina were reportedly dating. According to The Sun — via DeuxMoi — Kanye and the Victoria Secret model were spending a lot of time together in June 2021.

Not only have Irina and Kanye worked together in the past on the rapper's music video for the song "Power," but she also walked the runway for Kanye's Fall/Winter fashion collection at Paris Fashion Week in 2012.

On June 9, 2021, Daily Mail confirmed that Kanye and Irina were together celebrating his 44th birthday in France. The publication shared exclusive photos of the rapper and model getting cozy. The pair are staying in "Villa La Coste," a boutique luxury hotel. Kanye and Irina also reportedly stopped to take pictures of one another on their casual stroll at the end of their four-day stay.

A source tells People Magazine that the musician's relationship has ended. "It was never a serious thing that took off," the source says. A second source claims, "Kanye has been busy working and spending time with his kids. This is his focus. He doesn't have time to date right now. He finds Irina amazing though.They remain friendly."

Reportedly, this breakup comes on the heels of previous breakup rumors that upset Irina, which a separate source reported were "lies." The pair were also reportedly trying to make long distance work, due to Kanye being L.A. based and Irina living primarily in NYC. However, it appears the distance was too much, and the couple have split.

According to a source speaking with Page Six, Kanye is looking to date someone who better understands him after his relationship with Kim. Apparently, the rapper wants to be “with an artist and a creative person” so “they can speak the same language to each other.” 

Prior to marrying Kim in 2014, Kanye had relationships with models Chanel Iman and Amber Rose, and he was engaged to designer Alexis Phifer in 2006. 

Thanks in large part to his unwavering support for Donald Trump, Kanye has become a controversial figure in the world of politics. More recently, Kanye has been ensnared to the world of politics thanks to photos of him and Candace Owen, the conservative firebrand known for making controversial claims. Some believe the photos of the two of them mean that a romance is in the offing, but that isn't actually the case. 

In fact, the photos that were recently posted online aren't even from a recent encounter. Instead, they're from a meeting that took place in 2018, when the two met to discuss Blexit, an organization focused on criminal justice reform that also supports the police and stands in sharp opposition to Black Lives Matter. Candace and Kanye have similar politics, but there's no evidence to suggest that they've met since 2018. 

Neither Kim nor Kanye publicly dated anyone while they worked through their divorce. Regardless of their current relationship status, though, there's been plenty of attention paid to the end of their marriage as it played out publicly. Reports suggest that the marriage really began to fall apart following Kanye's TMZ interview in which he suggested that slavery was a choice.

An episode of Keeping up With the Kardashians was explicitly focused on the trouble in their marriage, with Kim acknowledging that Kanye was feeling neglected following the birth of their third child. More than a year after that episode aired, Kim and Kanye had a fight on camera over her Met Gala outfit, which he believed was too revealing. 

In addition to the personal fractures in their relationship, Kim and Kanye also began to diverge politically. Kanye found religion, and reevaluated his position on issues ranging from public displays of nudity to abortion. Kim meanwhile, was still doing nude photoshoots and was openly supporting Planned Parenthood. Their lifestyles no longer made any sense together, and it ultimately proved to be a wedge that the couple couldn't overcome. 

Now that the divorce drama is cooling down, Kanye appears to be ready to explore the dating world. While fans of Kanye and Irina were hoping for the best, maybe it's time for Kanye to focus more on his upcoming album, "Donda."