InstagramAs far as delivers go, this one was pretty well thought out. Having spent the final weeks of her pregnancy in Cleveland, Khloe Kardashian was set to give birth at nearby Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The hope, a source reveals to E! News, was for the reality star and her Cleveland Cavaliers center boyfriend Tristan Thompson to welcome their first daughter sometime after he finished his last regular season home game Apr. 11 and before the playoffs kicked off four days later.
Of course, not everything went according to the game plan. Just hours before Khloe was set to enter the hospital the 27-year-old athlete emerged as the main subject of numerous cheating accusations. First, The Daily Mail published photos and video that purported to show the 6-foot-9 pro kissing a woman at NYC rooftop bar PH-D Lounge Apr. 7, where he was in town for a game. While the athlete's hood obscures the view, the person who filmed the video insisted to The Daily Mail that he was "making out" with a girl all night.
That report seemed to open the floodgates. Next, The Shade Room published more photos and video of Thompson entering his hotel with a woman and showed her leaving later carrying an oversized tote.
Finally, TMZ unearthed security footage taken at a Washington, D.C. hookah lounge last October that it reported showed Thompson getting close to two women.
Neither the 33-year-old reality star, who's called her 20-month romance with Thompson her "best" union, nor the NBA champ have commented on the reports, but privately, a source tells E! News, "She feels defeated." Thankfully she has her best cheerleaders at her side. Mom Kris Jenner, 62, and sisters Kourtney, 38, and Kim, 37, have rallied around her, says another insider, "They wanted her to be comfortable and not stressed at all."
Days earlier the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star was feeling few anxieties. In an April 9 post on her website titled "Why I'm Not Afraid About Giving Birth," she laid out her case. Throughout her pregnancy, she wrote, she'd been religiously reading the daily app updates and she hadn't shied away from peppering her doctor with questions. Plus, thanks to her large family (both Kim and Kourtney have three kids and little sis Kylie, 20, just welcomed daughter Stormi Feb. 1), "I've seen over eight births live and in person," she wrote. So while she admitted to being "a little nervous to go into labor," she insisted, "I'm trying to not overthink something that happens all the time."
Besides she was well prepared to welcome the baby girl she'd called "the greatest dream realized."
In her final months of pregnancy, the California native had shipped décor and baby products to the $1.9 million lakeside home she shared with Thompson outside Cleveland. And with Kris' help, she had carefully outfitted one of the spreads four bedrooms in neutral hues. In early March, the twosome spent two hours browsing through L.A.'s Petit Tresor and Couture Kids, selecting baby gear, toys, furniture and clothes in pink and neutral shades. Says an insider of their Petit Tresor outing, "They bought a hefty amount."
Using recommendations from her sisters—and snapping up the same products they had used—she put together the type of nursery you would expect from someone who carefully stacks her Oreos and labels every bit of food in her kitchen. Noting every item has a place, a source told E! News, "Everything is very minimal."
Her hospital bag was equally organized. In a post on her app, the Revenge Body with Khloe Kardashian star revealed she'd stashed her computer, chargers, toiletry bag, cozy socks, pajamas "that button in the front," maternity bras, a comfy robe and other garb in her tote along with "matching hats and receiving blankets" for her daughter. "Of course, I'm already packed up and have been for a while, LOL," she wrote. "I know exactly what I wanted to put in my hospital bag—lots of comfy things for me and for her!"
She was prepared mentally as well, thanks to an unending barrage of tips from her siblings and mom. "It's her first baby, so I'm so excited," Kris told E! News, though she joked, "I'm not allowed to talk about names!"
By April 9, there was just one thing left to do. Sharing a maternity photo of herself kissing a shirtless Thompson with her nearly 75 million Instagram followers, Khloe wrote, "We are ready whenever you are little mama."
Except, instead of labor pains, she experienced a barrage of unpleasant news. While details are still murky, with each headline, says an insider, she sank deeper into despair. "She's distraught," says the insider. "Her entire world has been turned upside down."
Unable to return to her Calabasas, Calif. pad—"She begged to come back to L.A. and tried to find any way to make it work, but her doctor wouldn't let her," says the insider—she called in reinforcements. Kris had already hopped a flight to Ohio to be there for the birth and her older sisters followed. Says the insider, "She just wants to be with her family."
Naturally, they stepped up. As Khloe sobbed, her famous clan did their best to provide comfort. "Everyone is just trying to be calm for Khloe," another source tells E! News. Voicing her feelings of betrayal, the Good American designer doled out one instruction: She did not wish to see or speak to Thompson. As a source revealed before the delivery, "The family is keeping them apart until she goes into labor."
That separation proved quite short. Just a day after the cheating reports broke, "Khloe's water broke," says a source, "and she went into labor for several hours."
Thompson, on the court until late in the evening, arrived to the hospital "shortly" before Khloe gave birth at 4 a.m. on April 12, says a source. And per Khloe's request he was permitted into the room, though mom Kris, sisters Kim and Kourtney and best friend Malika Haqq were all on hand to provide a buffer. Despite the awkwardness, says an insider, everyone did their best to make the mood celebratory: "They are focusing on the baby and crying a lot of happy tears at the moment."
For Khloé—who dealt with infidelity throughout her seven-year marriage to former basketball player Lamar Odom—that means putting a pin in her nearly two-year relationship. "She will obviously never be able to look at Tristan the same way," says a source. "Her world is shattered." And while her family believes it's in her best interest to cut ties with the athlete, says the source, "They will support her either way."
Right now her main wish is to bond with her newborn daughter. A source tells E! News Khloé is set to be released from the hospital soon and "wants to get back to L.A. as soon as possible." Though she had originally planned to uproot her entire life to Ohio, "She has no plans to raise the baby in Cleveland," says the source. While Khloé wants her baby to have a father, says the source, "She and Tristan are not on good terms. She's very distraught about the situation."
But through her pain, there's still a great deal of joy. After all motherhood is something she's said she hoped and prayed for. Says the source, "Right now, she's focusing on the baby. She is so excited and happy to finally be a mom."