Larsa Pippen has hit back after she was criticised for dating a married man.
Kim Kardashian’s former BFF has defended her relationship with NBA star Malik Beasley, insisting that he had separated from his wife Montana Yao when they started dating.
The jewellery entrepreneur, 46, who has split from her NBA husband Scottie Pippen, was furious when she was labelled a “homewrecker”.
And she said that anybody would have known she had done nothing wrong if they’d “spent a minute Googling their situation”.
The mum-of-four told Hollywood Unlocked: “We had spoken about it. It wasn’t a secret. I know a lot of people that are married and exiting. I’ve played that part. So for me, if you’re not being shady and you’re telling me all your stuff, I’m going to believe you.
“A lot of people are not happy in their situations and they don’t want to jump ship until they see someone they like.”
However, Larsa says she does regret the way her relationship with the Minnesota Timberwolves star became public knowledge.
They were pictured holding hands and Montana, who shares a one-year-old son with the athlete, quickly filed for divorce, claiming she was blindsided.
Larsa said: “I feel like I wished that wouldn’t have happened. What’s the point of that, taking a beating over a guy I just started talking to? It was stupid.”
“I just feel like I need to do a better job of not being public with my situation. I wasn’t trying to be public with this situation, but it just went and happened that way.”
Larsa said she doesn’t believe she’s the cause of Malik’s divorce, and that she Googled him when they first met and found out that he had separated from his wife.
She said they had “issues” that were nothing to do with her.
Larsa was famously best friends with Keeping Up With The Kardashians star Kim for more than 10 years before they had a mysterious falling out.
After being Kim’s closest confident for more a decade, it was said the star was worried about her secrets being spilled, especially after hearing Larsa was being offered her own show within days of the announcement that Keeping Up With The Kardashians would be ending.
A source told Closer magazine: “Kim heard Larsa was in talks for her own reality show just days after they decided to end theirs. Kim’s upset about it because if Larsa becomes a global superstar, there’s a huge possibility she could eclipse Kim, stealing her fans and her business empire.”
Kim and Larsa unfollowed each other on social media around the time of Kanye’s public meltdown and have remained distanced from each other ever since.