Though they only dated for two months, Tinashe and Ben Simmons' messy breakup made headlines for well over a year, following the news that the NBA player had moved on with model Kendall Jenner just weeks after calling it quits with his ex. Tinashe, who would go on to form a very bad drinking habit over the breakup, later learned that Simmons had been close with the reality star for quite some time, with some sources even implying he was already seeing the TV personality before his split with his former flame - but that was never confirmed or denied. Still, what was clear was that Tinashe struggled to deal with the split, and apparently it even caused a rift between her and Kendall at one point.
Kendall's romance with the athlete didn't last all that long either, with the couple calling it quits twice in a year before the 23-year-old would be seen with another basketball star, Devin Booker. But what exactly happened between Tinashe and Ben Simmons, and how did that lead to a feud with Kendall? Here's what you need to know.
Ben Simmons’ Messy Breakup
Before Ben got cozy with Kendall, he’d been seeing Tinashe for no more than two months, and while their relationship was short-lived, the NBA player handled the breakup in what many would deem a tacky manner.
Reports initially claimed that Tinashe and Ben had decided to call it quits in May 2018, but it was later revealed that it was Simmons who had pulled the plug on the romance after having formed a close bond with Jenner.
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What’s worse, in the same month that Ben decided to end his relationship with Tinashe, he appeared to show little to no shame in going public with Kendall just a few weeks later, leaving the Cash Race hitmaker heartbroken because, as we later learned, she was completely blindsided by the breakup.
Following their split, it was rumored that Tinashe was finding it hard to let go of the relationship and she would reportedly stalk Ben on social media before the former couple ended up at the same LA nightclub just one month after going their separate ways. Fortunately, Tinashe never crossed paths with Ben during her night out with pals.
But given that Ben wasted no time to go public with Kendall, many assumed that the athlete was already romantically involved with Jenner before he ended his romance with Tinashe, which only added more fuel to the fire. Since she continued to struggle to overcome the heartbreak she endured over the split, the Story Of Us chart-topper turned to alcohol to deal with her emotions.
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“It may have been the worst day of my life, but it's OK,” Tinashe said while speaking out about her breakup with Simmons. “I drank for, like, six months after that! Are you kidding me? I was, like, wasted for months. But I'm OK now. It was terrible. It was bad. Like, it was bad, but I'm good now.”
While the singer didn't blame Kendall for the split, she did take issue with the fact that the model was the reason Ben had given up on their romance.
To make matters worse, Tinashe later claimed that Ben was still texting her while cozying up with the KUWTK star, implying that after their split, the athlete still appeared to share feelings for his ex.
Turning Her Heartbreak Into Hit Songs
Tinashe eventually found it in herself to give up the heavy drinking so that she could focus her attention on recording her fourth studio album, Songs For You, which she released in November 2019.
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Songs such as Feelings and her ballad Remember When were rumored to have been written with Simmons in mind, but Tinashe has never confirmed or denied which songs were actually penned about her ex-boyfriend.
Meanwhile, Ben and Kendall’s relationship experienced its ups and downs, having called it quits twice in one year, with sources blaming their hectic schedules and lack of time for one another as their reason for taking a break.
By June 2020, Jenner was spotted out with another NBA player: Devin Booker, in Malibu, leading fans to believe her romance with Ben was officially over.
One of the biggest issues Kendall had with Ben, according to People, was the amount of attention that was brought to their romance over the messy way he decided to break up with Tinashe.
The reality TV star felt there was a lot of unnecessary scrutiny being put on her personal life and it made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, particularly because she (supposedly) wasn’t aware of Ben’s past relationship.
"She honestly doesn’t want people talking about who she’s dating and is very protective of her personal life,” a source told the publication. “She hates the attention and it’s been annoying that the drama with Tinashe has come up."