Do a quick search on Twitter, and you'll see that Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick have two famous doppelgängers. Fans have long compared Keeping Up With the Kardashians exes Kardashian and Disick to Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) and Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick).
It's true that both pairings share great style, quick wit, and very famous last names — but is the thing that fans are really pointing out just the toxic nature of both relationships? I say yes — even though, often, fans mistake this toxicity for true romance.
First, a little background. Kardashian, 39, and Disick, 35, began dating in 2006, back when the former was mostly known for a short stint on reality series Filthy Rich and Disick for being the heartthrob on the cover of a YA horse book.
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It was around 2014 that things became particularly chaotic between Disick and Kardashian. Disick's partying and bad boy behavior (which includes allegations of cheating), was documented consistently on KUTWK, and soon, Disick and Kardashian became an on-again, off-again couple, for whom drama followed. Then, in 2015, they announced that they were successfully co-parenting their three kids — but no longer together in the romantic sense.
The problem is, in part, that fans still really want these two to get back together — and maybe the consistent comparisons that these two receive to the fictional Blair and Chuck explains why.
I feel like Scott & Kourtney are a grown up version of Chuck bass & Blair, that's why everyone loves them (including me) (I'm gonna be them)
— rachel stevens (@rachiie6) November 14, 2014
But Kourtney and Scott were like the real life version of Chuck and Blair ?
— Megan (@MeganBurlandd) July 6, 2015
Kourtney and Scott are pretty much the real life versions of Chuck and Blair and I absolutely love it
— drea gies (@dreagies) August 14, 2014
While plenty of fans see the comparison as the ultimate compliment, they really shouldn't.
Yes, Chuck and Blair's relationship was filled with passion — and a whole lot of problems. The issue was that, for every time Chuck went on a bender, Blair's love was able to pull him back from the brink. Their dramatic fights usually ended in really great breakup sex, and any relationship that the other entered during their "off-again" period was to make the other jealous or realize how much better suited the other was for them. (By the way, it should be noted that while Chuck and Blair's dramatic relationship began when they were teenagers, Disick and Kardashian were, and are, full-blown adults.)
Mostly, these two were co-dependent and terrible for one another, but, because this is a TV show and not real life, it's perfectly acceptable. It's when we start putting the ideals of a television romance on real people that we end up idealizing a lot of problematic qualities.
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When you break it down, Disick and Kardashian are the real-life Chuck and Blair, in that they, too, have dealt with issues relating to substance abuse, dramatic fights, and breakups that don't stick. And while Chuck and Blair are fictional people, Kardashian and Disick have also had their relationship documented for the masses. The fans watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians see another relationship just like the one on Gossip Girl (and, of course, many dramas that came before and after it) and don't necessarily see toxic: They see romance.
I want Scott & Kourtney to get back together as a Christmas present
— BELA (@isabelaseraffim) November 7, 2017
I don't usually watch @KUWTK but Scott and Kourtney are still so in love it's actually ridiculous.
— Anaïs Gomes (@Lagbeauty24) September 13, 2018
Keeping Up With the Kardashians may be a reality show, but like all TV, it needs a narrative, and has tried to incorporate a "will-they-won't-they" with Kardashian and Disick at the center — which is exactly what Gossip Girl did with Chuck and Blair, time and time again.
Of course, this "will-they-won't-they" of it all typically involved Kardashian being put through the ringer emotionally. Still, her emotional anguish was seen by fans as just another example of the deep feelings the two had for one another.
On his end, though Disick is currently involved with Sofia Richie, on a recent episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians he admits that he feels "guilty" for moving on with a different woman, when the only person he's ever been serious about is Kardashian. In another, Disick says that he thinks maybe he and Kardashian will get married, when he's 40.
Given highlights like that, it's easy to see why, when Kardashian's relationship with younger boyfriend Younes Bendjima went sour, some fans saw it as a way to clear the path for a reunion with Disick.
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Kourtney you’re simply still in love w Scott spit it out #KUWTK
— jackie (@jrose319) September 10, 2018
The fact that Kourtney Kardashian was CRYING as if someone died about Scott introducing their kids to his girlfriend, meanwhile she had introduced them to Younes already - confirms that she’s still in love with him and all this dating is just to get a reaction from him
— Reality Ashhole (@RealityAshhole) September 19, 2018
Idc what no one says KOURTNEY IS STILL IN LOVE WITH SCOTT. You can see it all over her face. I think she left because she felt she had to for her kids but she still loves that man. I hope they find their way back to one another. #KUWTK
— ᏆᏙ XᏙ XᏟᏙᏆ ♛ (@IVXVXCVI) September 10, 2018
Me...patiently waiting for Scott and Kourtney to get back together now that Scott has sorted himself out. #KUWTK pic.twitter.com/VutK7QiTVk
— Lauren Denton? (@Lauren_Dentonx) September 22, 2018
The Kardashians make their bread and butter off people caring about their personal lives, but shipping real people, especially when a relationship ended in part due to some unhealthy behaviors, is just a reminder that many of us believe a great love story is only truly epic if it involves a whole lot of pain first.
Gossip Girl ended with Chuck and Blair happy and, seemingly, drama-free. But real life doesn't have a series finale, and Kardashian and Disick aren't television characters who can complete their emotional arcs in time to be together. In fact, it seems that Kardashian is achieving her happy ending, Disick-free: Her own healing journey has been well-documented on this season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and it involves a lot of her vacationing on tropical islands with her kids and squad of girlfriends.
So, please: Can we quit hoping for a TV-like reunion for these reality stars, and comparing them to one of television's already pretty toxic ships? Fans may want more dramatic breakups and reunions, but it doesn't seem like Kardashian and Disick can bother with it in their real life.
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