The Kardashian scandal is far too relatable

It’s something you’d never believe possible — a close family friend sleeping with your partner. But the Kardashian scandal has made it all too real.

OPINION

If you have an internet connection, odds are you’ve probably heard something about the Kardashians, a basketballer called Tristan Thompson, and a girl called Jordyn Woods this week.

For the beginners in the room, the Kardashians effectively broke the internet again this week after news surfaced that Khloe Kardashian’s partner, Canadian basketballer Tristan Thompson, cheated on her for the second time since the birth of their baby daughter, True.

But this time, his infidelity cut a little closer to home with claims that Tristan has been sleeping with a mate of Khloe’s half sister Kylie Jenner.

And not just any mate. It’s Kylie’s best friend of two decades, Jordyn Woods.

The news has left people everywhere grappling with a totally terrifying, and equally relatable dilemma.

How does anyone cope with a childhood friend violating their trust in such a major way?

Jordyn Woods has been a close family friend of the Kardashians for many years.

Well, in this case Jordyn has been unfollowed on social media by members of the Kardashian family, kicked out of Kylie Jenner’s home and mercilessly abused on Instagram.

Almost every photograph on Jordyn’s Instagram account has been peppered with snake emojis and a lip kit she released with her BFF Kylie has had its price slashed in half by the Kardashian family.

Brutal.

Khloe is yet to comment publicly on the alleged scandal, but deleted several photographs on her Instagram account featuring Tristan Thompson.

So why is this woman’s personal heartbreak dominating the news and why the hell am I writing about it?

Firstly, I should explain that I am the worst Kardashian fan on the face of the planet.

I can’t tell the difference between North and South (is that a kid?) and a Kendall from a Kindle.

So I was surprised when this scandal struck a chord with me, and a number of other non-Kardashian devotees.

And I think know why.

In essence, Jordyn Woods embodies every woman’s worst fear: to find out your partner has hooked up with someone you love and trust.

I am certain this fear also applies to men, I just can’t speak to their lived experience so forgive me.

While it’s not particularly progressive to consider this, it’s at the core of why the public is so interested in the Kardashian scandal.

Khloe Kardashian days after finding out who her partner had slept with.

For Kylie Jenner, it must have been a challenging week navigating life without the person who, like most childhood friends, was always around.

Jordyn is the friend who would hold your jacket, or pick up your clutch, or take a flattering photo when you’re feeling particularly fly.

In other words, she’s part of the furniture.

So what do you do when your furniture decides to have sex with your sister’s partner?

Tristan Thompson was allegedly seen kissing Jordyn at his own house party at the weekend.

If you had siblings growing up, you always ended up interacting with their friends. Whether it was across the dinner table or in the hallway, they were always there.

These “Jordyns” were always hanging in the periphery of your youth. As everyone grew up, the Jordyns of life seemed to blend seamlessly into the fabric of your family.

It’s therefore unthinkable that someone so welcomed by your family, someone who was essentially given the keys to the palace, could betray all this shared history.

It challenges our concept of trust, loyalty and the classic “girl code”.

At best, the Jordyn Woods scandal is unsettling to many of us.

At worst, it plays on our fear of a close friend taking away someone we love and treasure.

And if it happened to someone as famous, and rich and beautiful as Khloe Kardashian, what’s stopping it happening to us?

If someone as close as a family friend can betray you, is anyone safe?

A friend of mine told me she has, in the past, wondered whether she could trust some of her close friends with her boyfriend.

She said the very thought that her friends were capable of such an act made her “incredibly sad”.

“It always makes me really sad when I get thoughts like that,” she said.

But she maintains this is the reason why the Kardashian scandal has captivated so many people — it is far too relatable.

“If people believe that it could happen to someone as famous as Khloe Kardashian, than it most certainly could happen to the rest of us,” she said.

If nothing else, this week’s news has hit a nerve in those of us, Kardashian fan or foe, who care, above all, about human relationships.