Why This Kourtney Kardashian Moment On KUWTK Was So Heartbreaking

I’m just going to say it: Scott Disick is kind of trash in the relationship department. Since we met him on the very first episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians over ten years ago, his loyalty and faithfulness to Kourtney Kardashian has been in question. The public nature of their relationship has revealed that whatever good times the couple shared were often overshadowed by the bad. And that’s why finally, three kids and a decade later, they have officially called it quits. And it seems like it might be for good this time. But the effects of a long-term relationship don’t just go away overnight, and Sunday night’s episode of KUWTK showed just how much healing Kourtney still needs to do.

Kim Kardashian was casually browsing Twitter when she read about the government attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. She wanted to take a stand on the issue but felt the need to be educated about it first. So she scheduled a visit to one of their facilities to learn more about the services they offer. (Planned Parenthood’s PR team is killing it, by the way. Targeting women via KUWTK is genius.) Bringing Kourtney and Khloé along for the ride, the three women got a VIP tour of the nicest Planned Parenthood facility I’ve ever seen. They talked to patients who used the health care provider for all kinds of different services. But one of the most eye-opening moments was when two Planned Parenthood educators took them through an exercise about healthy relationships.

The Kardashian sisters were prompted to write about the things they deserve, can do, and have rights to do in their relationships. Kim and Khloé jumped at the opportunity, immediately putting their colourful markers to work filling up the poster paper. But Kourtney hesitated. “I don’t think I can do this,” she admitted with her signature anxious laughter. In a separate confessional, Kim narrated that even though Kourtney isn’t great at sharing her feelings on the spot, the fact that she’s spent so much time in an unhealthy relationship has made the exercise particularly challenging for her sister.

Reading headlines about the ups and downs of Kourtney and Scott’s relationship against the backdrop of their life as wealthy celebrities can make it difficult to empathise with Kourtney. She can go anywhere she wants. She already reportedly has a new boo, Younes Bendjima, and still has millions of adoring fans. But in this same episode, Scott is threatening “anyone who comes in between” him and Kourtney with violence while traipsing around the same city with a slew of different women. There is no amount of money or fame that makes this behaviour any less harmful and problematic. That Kourtney’s relationship with Scott has been so toxic that she can’t even name the healthy and joyous things she deserves in a relationship is truly heartbreaking.

And perhaps this is why the Planned Parenthood plug was so powerful. The healthcare provider that services millions of patients every year can help the woman diagnosed with HIV, the person considering an abortion, and the celebrity trying to establish her needs and personal boundaries after a long, complicated relationship. That some politicians are still ignoring these people is heartbreaking, too.