Despite months of apparent shyness, Khloe Kardashian will discuss Tristan Thompson’s baby-mama drama on our screens next month.
For now, it’s enough for fans to know that it’s over (hopefully for real, this time).
While Khloe has been moving on and seemingly battling even-worse-than-usual self-image issues, Tristan has his mind on other things.
Right now, his focus seems to be convincing himself that he shouldn’t feel guilty.
It look like all of that time around Khloe Kardashian must have rubbed off on Tristan Thompson.
The 31-year-old sports pro seems to be following in her footsteps when it comes to using Instagram.
For years, Khloe has used “inspirational” quotes to vaguepost about current events while giving herself total deniability.
Now, it’s Tristan’s turn.
“Let the past guide you rather than making you feel guilty,” begins an anonymous quote that he shared to his Instagram Story on Wednesday, March 16.
The quote went on: “Let the future excite you rather than making you feel anxious.”
The quote counseled: “Let the present be a gift to you to feel alive.”
The advise is for it to be a gift “rather than a curse that makes you live in the past or future.”
Without adding any verbal commentary, Tristan did include two talking head emojis to the Story post.
Guilt is a complicated topic, in part because guilt often does very little good.
Why? Because guilt is generally felt after the misdeed, and there is no guarantee that it will prevent a repeat performance.
In some ways, faking the feeling of “guilt” for social clout and to entice others to forgive you is more useful, albeit not more ethical.
But what guilt does is signify an understanding of wrongdoing and that the person realizes their own fault.
It would be reassuring to many people if Tristan were showing clear signs that he knows that he wronged her and did a disservice to his children as well.
For that matter, if Tristan at least had the common sense to fake feeling guilty, it would show that he at least cares what people think.
Instead, what he appears to be signaling is that he is defiant in the face of his misdeeds.
It’s obvious to think about Tristan, the shameless serial cheater, and how he betrayed and humiliated Khloe repeatedly during their romance.
However, Tristan could be referring — at least in part — to other bad behavior for which a decent person would feel guilty.
Maralee Nichols had to sue Tristan to even get him to admit that her child was his.
The child is his — he impregnated her last year, right around the time that Khloe was finally confirming that she had taken him back.
Even after admitting that he had fathered the baby, Maralee says that Tristan is a deadbeat dad and is trying to get him to finally pay child support.
Tristan does not have to feel guilty over how he treated Khloe, how he is treating Maralee, or how he treated Jordan Craig.
For that matter, he doesn’t have to feel guilty over complicating the lives of True, Theo, or Prince.
He, like everyone else, is entitled to manage his own emotions.
But … is he actually being a good father to his kids? Some would argue that it’s impossible to do so for three half-siblings all at once.
Maralee says that he is not, by not supporting his newest child. She is hoping to change that, if not through guilt than through the courts.
Tristan doesn’t owe “guilt” to anyone, but he certainly owes a lot to three children who would not exist without his choices.
