- Sources say that Kourtney Kardashian's boyfriend Younes Bendjima has "never liked" her "sexy pictures"— and the couple already broke up once because of it.
- Two experts told INSIDER that this type of conflict tends to fall along gendered lines, with men generally preferring more privacy in straight relationships.
- Both experts also noted that for a normal couple, compromise is key. But for a Kardashian, social media is her livelihood.
- "This would be like her saying to him, 'I just can't handle your boxing. You have to give up boxing.' It would be literally equivalent to that," psychotherapist Matt Lundquist said.
Kourtney Kardashian's recent Instagram posts gave fans the impression that she has been living her best life with her boyfriend, Younes Bendjima. She has, after all, documented herself eating focaccia on a yacht (otherwise known as "the dream"). But as it turns out, Bendjima himself has been feeling very differently about her social media presence.
The 25-year-old boxer recently left a highly questionable comment on a photo of his girlfriend in a bikini: "That's what you need to show to get likes?" Multiple outlets managed to capture screenshots before he deleted it.
In a since deleted comment, it appears Younes isn’t too happy with Kourtney Kardashian’s latest Instagram post. SHA-DAY! #TheMorningToastpic.twitter.com/slbfcJGyhP
— The Morning Toast (@themorningtoast) July 16, 2018
While some fans assumed that Bendjima was simply making a joke that didn't quite land, it has since been reported that this is an ongoing conflict in their relationship. In fact, a source told People that Bendjima's disapproval of Kardashian's revealing photos already caused the couple to break up once before.
"He never liked that she posted sexy pictures of herself on social media. He doesn't want his girlfriend to do that. He gets that it's her job, but wants her to post more covered up pictures," the source told People. "He has always had a problem with this."
A separate source told E! News that Kardashian is "frustrated" by her boyfriend's "impulsive" decision to air their laundry in a public forum.
"Younes gets jealous and can be possessive of Kourtney," the source told E!. "When she posts half-naked pictures, he gets very upset. He wants her for himself and doesn't want to share her with the world."
Fans have already pointed out Bendjima's double standard.
Since news of Bendjima's comment began to circulate, his Instagram has become inundated with similar messages.
Kardashian fans have made a point to highlight the sexist implications of his attempt to police a woman's body— regardless of his relationship to her — while feeling free to do the same with his own.
Kourtney Kardashian’s controlling insecure ass boyfriend publicly shaming her for posting pictures showing off her bodies is hilarious when this is literally his Instagram feed. MEN ARE RIDICULOUS pic.twitter.com/VT2mMhGMdv
— M A R I E (@MELANCHOLYHlLLZ) July 17, 2018
“That’s what you need to show to get likes?” He said. As his body only gets him thousands and kourtneys pinky nail can get 3 mil but ok pic.twitter.com/6yaeUR2Wxa
— 𝒜𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓁🧟♀️ (@ariel_garel) July 18, 2018
Gender dynamics can play a role in a couple's issues with social media.
"There are most certainly double standards about what is expected (or not expected) to be revealed for men versus women," licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Andrea Bonior told INSIDER. "There are different ways of objectifying different genders, and different pressures that come from being male or female — especially in the public eye with an image to protect."
Psychotherapist and Tribeca Therapy founder Matt Lundquist agreed that, while there are certainly exceptions, a straight couple having issues with one person posting or sharing too much can have gendered implications.
"I do think that more often [in straight relationships], women tend to share more and men tend to want the relationship to be more private," Lundquist told INSIDER. "In my experience, I think men are more protective over two kinds of things. There is this cultural tendency of men to be very protective over their relationships with women. But they also tend to want private aspects of the relationship to stay private: conversations, arguments, disagreements."
This trend almost certainly has roots in how women have historically been considered the subordinate sex. After all, married women in the UK were legally seen as property until 1870— and the ongoing debate over reproductive rights demonstrates how misogyny still wields considerable power over female agency.
Bonior — the author of multiple books and host of The Washington Post's weekly live chat about mental health and relationships — noted that "there is danger in the generalization" that straight men tend to be more possessive.
"I'm more interested in individual cases, since every couple is different," she told INSIDER. "But I also think a lot of people would agree with that generalization."
Conflict over social media activity is rather common — but could be indicative of larger issues in a relationship.
"Being that your average person spends hours on their smartphone per day and that much of that time is spent on social media, it can be a magnifying glass that reveals and worsens other relationship problems, such as flirtation, bragging, privacy intrusions, differences in social lives, different priorities in terms of flashiness and consumerism," Bonior told INSIDER. "It's almost like social media activity can be an umbrella that encapsulates many different potential conflicts."
Lundquist also noted that "issues of vulnerability and issues with trust" could manifest in arguments about social media — or, more generally, arguments about one partner over-sharing.
Both Bonior and Lundquist said that communication and understanding are key to navigating these issues.
"They're either going to have to find a place to meet on this — whether it's one partner moves fully to the other partner's vision, or they meet somewhere in the middle — or at some point, it's going to blow up," Lundquist told INSIDER. "I would encourage them to both be very curious about the other person's position and to get close to a better understanding of why social media is so important to her and why it's so aversive to him."
For Bendjima and Kardashian — whose job is to share her life with the world — this could be a deal-breaker.
Lundquist stressed that there is no "objective" or "right" answer when a person is uncomfortable with their partner's social media activity. But he also acknowledged that when that partner is a Kardashian, it's a different situation.
Stars of the Kardashian-Jenner clan have built their fame and cultivated specific brands by sharing their personal lives with the public. Each member of the family can make upwards of $200,000 for each sponsored Instagram post, according to Forbes.
"Her job is to chronicle her entire existence on social media and in traditional media. One does have to ask, why did he pick this person to date?" Lundquist said. "[Bendjima] needs to spend some time thinking about what he wants in a partner."
Indeed, the source told E! News that Bendjima "wants to be able to deal with this side of Kourtney's life and knows he needs to accept it if they are going to be together."
If he can't, however, Lundquist believes that this "may be a deal-breaker."
"There are certain things that I think can be points of disagreement in a relationship and go a long time without being resolved and without much consequence, but this is one of those things that doesn't just go away," Lundquist told INSIDER. "This couple is not going to make it unless we get some kind of deus ex machina revelation and all of a sudden discover that he's fine with it. Otherwise, this couple is going to be broken up by Labor Day. It's just not sustainable."
"Spoiler alert, Kourtney Kardashian is not giving up sexy photos on Instagram. That's just not happening. So [Bendjima] is going to have to decide whether or not he's okay with that," he continued. "This would be like her saying to him, 'I just can't handle your boxing. You have to give up boxing.' It would be literally equivalent to that."
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