Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Yeezy Season 3Khloe Kardashian knows firsthand that the aftermath of a breakup can be messy. Despite the level of initial discomfort, the reality star insists being friends with an ex is far from impossible.
"Just because you break up with someone doesn't mean you lose that connection," the 31-year-old talk show host wrote on her website. She would know—despite previously filing for divorce from Lamar Odom, Kardashian has been with the former athlete every step of his recovery from his October overdose.
"I always say, people are in your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. If my relationship with someone didn't have substance anyway, we don't need to keep in touch. I don't need to stay friends with a guy I f--ked for two weeks LOL," she wrote. "But if it's a relationship that served a purpose in my life, like Lamar, why wouldn't I want them in my life afterwards? Scott [Disick], too—he was a huge part of our family and always will be."
Ultimately, Khloe wants to keep the peace the best that she can.
"I always want to feel like I can say hi to anyone I've had a relationship with if I saw them in public. I never want to go anywhere and be nervous because so-and-so is there. That's so awkward!" she elaborated. "If it is awkward between us, I want to find a way to fix it. I'm not about that bad energy!!!"
The best-selling author acknowledges that developing a different kind of relationship with an ex can be difficult, but she looks to her own parents, Kris Jenner and Robert Kardashian, as a guideline of what is attainable.
"When my mom and dad got divorced, they weren't friends at first—but years later, it was great! We could all be together as a family and there was no bad blood," she continued.
Still, her theory comes with contingencies. Above all, Khloe encourages self-love before anything else.
"You definitely shouldn't force it, though. You need a break, so you can process everything, and you need to respect yourself and your own emotions. If it's toxic to remain friends, you shouldn't, and if you haven't had closure, you can't be friends yet," she explained. "But it doesn't have to be that way forever."