Kanye West’s relationships are about as iconic as his music.
His first known public romance was with his high school sweetheart, Sumeke Rainey, whom he dated until his debut album, The College Dropout, catapulted him into unimaginable superstardom in 2004.
After graduating from up-and-coming rapper and producer to earning a seat at the table of hip-hop royalty in the late 2000s, West and model Amber Rose became something of a power couple during his 808s & Heartbreak (2008) and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) eras.
Turn to your Lord ˹in repentance˺, and ˹fully˺ submit to Him before the punishment reaches you, ˹for˺ then you will not be helped.(The Quran - Chapter Az-Zumar : 54)
Above all, the most famous (and infamous) of the leading ladies in West’s life was Kim Kardashian, for whom the Chicago-born artist believed he was destined.
“I felt like our love story is like a love story for the ages,” West told Angie Martinez in a Hot 97 interview in 2013. “I felt like when we first got together, it was like a Romeo-and-Juliet kind of thing.”
Kimye’s rise and fall were captured across various seasons of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which chronicled their 2014 wedding in Italy, the birth of their four children and their contentious divorce in 2021.
Even after Kardashian, West continues making headlines for the women he's romanced.
Here’s a look back at Kanye West’s dating history.
Sumeke Rainey
Before he became a household name, West dated his high school sweetheart. While their relationship remained out of the public eye, he referenced her on "Never Let Me Down," a track from his 2004 debut album, The College Dropout.
"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 on the song.
The pair's relationship ended as he rose to stardom.
Alexis Phifer
The rapper and designer Alexis Phifer dated on and off from 2002 until 2008. The pair went through a rough patch when West's career skyrocketed in 2004 after the release of The College Dropout. They later reunited, and in August 2006, the Grammy winner proposed to her over a lobster and pasta dinner while vacationing on the island of Capri.
After an 18-month engagement, during which West's mom Donda unexpectedly died, the pair called it off in April 2008.
"It's always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends," Phifer told at the time. "I wish him the best in his future and all of his endeavors. He's one of the most talented people I've ever met."
Brooke Crittendon
The former MTV employee and Harlem Heights star dated the actor during a brief split from Phifer, and she attended the 2006 Grammy Awards with him and his mother before they split that summer.
Crittendon later spoke to Essence about the pressure the spotlight on the relationship put on her, saying in 2009, "[I] had to live in the shadow of that's 'Kanye's ex-girl.' I'm so much bigger than that."
She added that the relationship ended on good terms. "Mr. West and I are amicable,” Crittendon said. “I wish him the best, and he wishes me likewise. As far as I'm concerned, if he ever needed anything, I'd be there and [he would do] the same for me."
Amber Rose
The "Fade" rapper dated the Philadelphia-born model and TV personality from 2008 until 2010, following his split from Phifer. Rose called it off, later alleging that she endured "constant bullying" from West in the wake of their split.
"The only thing I got from him was fame. I had to just take that," Rose said during a 2017 interview on Complex's Everyday Struggle talk show. "I had to take that heartbreak on top of it."
Opening up about West's Grammy-winning album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which was inspired by their breakup, she said: "It's a great part of history, and it's a great part of hip-hop, and I'm happy to be a part of it, but that time was not a great time for me."
She continued: "I'm famous, and I'm broke. I can't date anyone else. I can't say anything on the Internet because Kanye has such a voice. If I was going to kill myself, I would have done it during those times."
Rose went on to marry rapper Wiz Khalifa in 2013; the two share a son named Sebastian Taylor. After the pair settled their divorce in 2016, she began dating music executive Alexander "AE" Edwards, with whom she welcomed son Slash Electric in October 2019. Although, in 2021, Rose accused Edwards of cheating on her with at least 12 different people.
Kim Kardashian
After ending her 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries in 2012, Kardashian began dating the rapper, with whom she had a longstanding friendship.
By December of that year, the pair announced that they were expecting their first child together. Four months after welcoming daughter North in June 2013, West popped the question in an elaborate proposal at San Francisco's AT&T Park.
The pair wed in 2014 in Florence, Italy. The musician and Keeping Up with the Kardashians star later welcomed son Saint in December 2015 before expanding their family with daughter Chicago and son Psalm via surrogate in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Kardashian and West have gone through a rollercoaster of public ups and downs throughout their relationship, and she ultimately filed for divorce on Feb. 19, 2021.
After her turbulent marriage with West, Kardashian began dating Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson in October 2021. The new couple didn’t last, though: She and Davidson called it quits in August 2022.
Irina Shayk
Several months after Kardashian filed for divorce, confirmed in June 2021 that West was seeing model Irina Shayk, who shares a daughter with actor Bradley Cooper.
The pair were spotted in France together, where West celebrated his 44th birthday.
"She seems smitten," a source told at the time. "He invited her to France, and she happily accepted. They are not officially dating, but there is an interest from both sides."
Shayk previously modeled for Yeezy and appeared in his 2010 music video for "Power."
In August 2021, sources confirmed that the pair had split.
Julia Fox
West met actress Julia Fox in Miami on New Year's Eve 2021, and the pair began a whirlwind romance. But by Valentine's Day 2022, the couple had split.
A rep for the Uncut Gems actress confirmed in a statement at the time, "Julia and Kanye remain good friends and collaborators, but they are no longer together."
Fox later opened up about the breakup to ES magazine in September 2022.
"The unresolved issues that he was dealing with," she said. "It just seems like he had a lot to work on, and I just don't have time for it or energy. I don't have the bandwidth or emotional capacity for it."
As for whether she and West were officially "boyfriend" and "girlfriend," Fox clarified: "I don't think those words ever came out of my mouth, actually. It definitely felt like I was his girlfriend. But it also felt like I was being cast in the role of his girlfriend — and he was casting me. He was the orchestrator of it all. It really did feel like a movie."
Chaney Jones
Following his split from Fox, West began dating model Chaney Jones. After dating for five months, the couple reportedly split in June 2022 after taking a trip together to Japan.
West was first romantically linked to Jones in February 2022, when they were photographed shopping together in Miami's Bal Harbour. He seemingly confirmed the romance on Instagram one month later, commenting on photos of them with a black heart emoji.
The pair was also spotted sitting court-side together at a Los Angeles Lakers game in March 2022, and she congratulated him on his latest Grammy wins in April 2022.
"THE BIGGEST 🐐🖤 SO PROUD," Jones wrote after West won best melodic rap performance and best rap song.
Bianca Censori
After calling things off with Jones, West began dating Australian architect and entrepreneur Bianca Censori, who has been an architectural designer for his fashion brand Yeezy since November 2020.
The first sign of West’s affection for Censori came in December 2022, when he seemingly named a song after her, “Censori Overload.”
On Jan. 9, 2023, West and Censori were spotted dining together at the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. On Jan. 13, 2023, TMZ reported the couple had secretly wed in a “private ceremony” and had even been photographed wearing wedding rings a day before their dinner date. At the time, according to TMZ, the legitimacy of their courtship was unclear, as West and Censori reportedly haven't filed an official marriage certificate.
In January 2024, West posted a number of photos of Censori on his Instagram, both by herself and with him. In one post, the two of them are both dressed in black, walking side-by-side, with a black heart as the caption.
