How The Kardashian 'Kurse' Destroyed Their Mens’ Lives

Lamar Odom's tragic downfall wasn't the first drama-filled scene for the Kardashian brood, each of them—Kris, Kim, Kourtney  and even moreso, Khloe—must be feeling a Kardashian Kurse is on the family name when it comes to relationships.

In the backs of their minds, everyone close to Lamar Odom had feared this day would come—being found unconscious at a Nevada brothel—following a three-day binge on cocaine, alcohol and herbal Viagra. But this wasn't surprising to those who tried to ween him away from marrying into a family that seems to send people down dark paths.

His early career days started out bright, when he was drafted to NBA's Los Angeles Clippers in 1999, despite his troubled childhood—dad, Joe Odom, who was a heroin addict and was largely "absent" from his son's life, and mom Cathy Mercer died of cancer when Lamar was only 12.

But things took a sharp turn for the worst in 2011, right after he won NBA's prestigious Sixth Man of the Year Award for the season—also the same year Khloe and Lamar kicked off their own reality show, Khloe & Lamar. But the ever-present cameras began to unnerve him.

The rumor mill began to spin fast with several mistresses coming forward about the affairs they carried on with Lamar while being married to the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star—quickly turning Khloe against him, Lamar into an irate mess, and Khloe who ultimately gave him the boot out the door. Days later, Lamar was arrested for a DUI, and failed to get resigned to the NBA that season. By December, Khloe filed for divorce amid reports he’d been abusing hard drugs.

To make matters worse, Khloe was told by momager Kris to use the divorce to the family show’s advantage. But after his overdose on Oct. 13, Khloe lashed out at Kris for choosing fame over family. ”She told Kris that Lamar's overdose is her fault," a family insider revealed. "She never wanted to divorce him, which is why she stalled for years before signing the papers. But her mom told her she had to rip off the Band-aid and call it a day."

Moreover, another source claims it was Kris who orchestrated a few high-drama encounters between the exes after their split in order to drum up ratings for the show.

And the momager is a pro herself at letting relationships get messy. Like Lamar, Bruce Jenner was a star athlete... before he met his third wife, Kris. But throughout their 23-year marriage, Kris mentally tormented him, putting him down and controlling every aspect of their lives—and things only got worse when she landed her TV show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

By 2012, he'd become known not as an Olympic hero, but as a henpecked reality TV husband. "She emasculated and humiliated him at every turn," says a source. "He was miserable and embarrassed to be treated like a child." After two decades together, Bruce left Kris and underwent a colossal transformation to become a woman.

And the Kardashian Kurse continued in the family's blood—hitting Kim just as hard. After her 72-day marriage with Kris Humphries ended bitter, she set her sights on her current hubby Kanye West. But the rapper is starting to feel the repercussions of being part of the family: "When he married Kim, Kanye lost his credibility," says a source. "He's turned into a joke, and he can't even see it."

Kourtney also couldn't escape the "kurse"—whose ex-man Scott Disick took a hard hit as well. Within months of falling for Kourtney in 2006, Scott appeared on the Kardashian family's brand-new TV show, and quickly became a fan favorite for his comedic relief and hard-partying ways.

But keeping up with his role in the Kardashian universe soon thrust Scott, 32, into a pit of substance abuse from which he struggle to emerge. A source says, "he got so deep into drugs, he would use them at all hours of the day and night. Sometimes he'd wake up and use during breakfast time."

Star previously reported that after nearly a decade together, Scott went off the deep end earlier this summer when he was caught canoodling with an ex on a boat during his month-long party binge. Kourtney left him this year, but now he's considered a "laughingstock now," says the source. "He's famous for being a mess."