Why Kendall Jenner Was Ready for Bad Bunny to Hop Into Her Life

Five years ago, Kendall Jenner was "ready to wait."

Discussing how friends called her "Mama Ken" because she inevitably ended up in the parental role when everyone else was cutting loose, the model told Vogue that, as far as becoming an actual mom went, "I want to have kids, but at, like, 28 or 29."

Which, at 23, probably felt very far away.

"I'm excited for that time in my life," Kendall reiterated to WSJ. Magazine earlier this year. "I just know it's not right now."

And though The Kardashians star is turning 28 on Nov. 3, rest assured this is not a call for her to make good on her 2018 guesstimate. She's got her blood relatives for that.

Mom Kris Jenner "will just randomly text me and be like, 'I think it's time,' and I'm like, 'Is this not up to me?!" Kendall shared on E!'s Daily Pop in April 2022, noting that younger sister and mother of two Kylie Jenner is also not-so-subtly hoping to be throwing her a baby shower sooner rather than later.

"I still have a lot I need to figure out before I can welcome a child into my life," Kendall said on The Kardashians last year after Kylie welcomed son Aire, and Kris encouraged her second-youngest kid to freeze her eggs. "Like, I'm still just enjoying life on my own and I'm OK with that right now."

Not to mention, she's got 22 nieces and nephews (with No. 23 due any minute) from siblings on both her dad's and mom's sides to dote on.

"I always wanted to be the cool aunt and I guess liked by all of them," she told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in 2021, when there were only 18 kids to keep track of, plus two on the way. "I have a lot of them, but it's fun. It's really fun. I try and be chill."

Incidentally, the same approach goes for her personal life, which—for someone with 249 million Instagram followers who's spent 16 years and counting making reality TV—has played out in a much lower key when compared to other members of her famous family.

That is, as impossible as it is to keep whomever she's dating a secret for long, Kendall has somehow managed to pull off privacy, going out and living her life but not making it part of her overarching public narrative.

"I try [to] find the balance of keeping things private and keeping things sacred, [and] also not letting the unfortunate frustration and stress of everyone trying to get in on it stop me from enjoying my side," she told WSJ. Magazine. "I just think that that's the healthier way of dealing with relationships anyway."

And that approach happens to suit her apparent boyfriend, Bad Bunny, who may not be the shy type but also isn't one to flash his intentions for all to see.

He and Kendall, months removed from her undramatic breakup with NBA star Devin Booker, were first spotted together in February on what looked like a double date with Justin and Hailey Bieber. Kendall catching Bad Bunny's set at Coachella in April, twinning at a Lakers game and slipping into a Met Gala afterparty together followed.

All of which earned a resounding no comment from Bad Bunny.

"People know everything about me, so what's left for me to protect? My private life, my personal life," the Puerto Rican artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio told Rolling Stone this past summer. He wouldn't confirm or deny rumors he was dating Kendall, who by then had also vacationed with him (and a group of friends) in May. 

"Today, everyone's a paparazzi," he added. "We're in the worst time, the worst moment for the privacy of other humans; not just artists, but human beings. Today, no one respects the privacy or life of anyone. There could be someone in line with, I don't know, weird pants on or something, and someone is there filming them."

Bad Bunny acknowledged that his music had become fodder for speculation, fans convinced that the horses and lingerie-clad woman with wings in the video for his song "Where She Goes" are not-so-subtle nods to Kendall, former Victoria's Secret model and lover of equines.

"Cosas de la vida" (or things in life) inspired him, Bad Bunny said.

But the nonstop interest in their togetherness didn't faze either one, and they've only continued to spend more time in each other's company.

After hitting Milan Fashion Week together earlier in the month, their romance took a turn for the glossily luxurious when a new Gucci campaign starring the pair was unveiled Sept. 30. Most recently, Kendall joined Bad Bunny at the Saturday Night Live afterparty Oct. 22 when the 29-year-old pulled double duty hosting and performing.

While purposefully not commenting on the particulars of her love life, Kendall assures that her lack of public drama was in no way a reflection of her being casual about relationships. In fact, quite the opposite.

"I love really hard, and I love without apology," she told Harper's Bazaar for its September 2023 cover story. "I don't like goodbyes, and I will fight to not have to say goodbye. I will always fight for relationships. I've been that way since I was little, although I was shy and sometimes very closed off. I don't give up on anything. Some people aren't willing to meet me at that level. But that's okay. I'd rather do that than shut myself off to something and not give it a proper chance."

And in the meantime, she's busy resting up for whatever's next. 

With the space-time continuum always bending between the present day and whenever they actually said what makes it into episodes of The Kardashians, Kendall remarked awhile ago—as seen on the Sept. 30 season premiere—"I'm the worst single person ever, because I'm not going out. I'm not exploring anything. I just sit at home. But whatever, I don't chase—I attract."

She wasn't looking, she added, describing herself as "really good at being independent." Rather, "I think I just find myself in relationships."

And then along came Bad Bunny.

Read on to see more scenes from their low-key romance: 

After sparking romance rumors in early 2023, Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny made a joint appearance at the Met Gala after-party in May.

That same month, the duo enjoyed a vacation with friends.

The couple also stepped out for an appearance at a Los Angeles Lakers game on May 12, where they sat courtside...

...shared some LOLs...

...and served up major style.

Speaking of style, the singer and the supermodel sat front row at the Gucci Ancora show during Milan Fashion Week on Sept. 22