Rob Kardashian admits his newfound confidence and self-esteem is all thanks to his pregnant fiancee Blac Chyna.
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The two stars of the upcoming E! reality series Rob & Chyna opened about their whirlwind romance and how Chyna impacted Rob's desire to stop being reclusive and start enjoying life again.
"She got me through my darkest times," Rob, 29, told People of the entrepreneur and model. "I wasn't happy in my own skin. I missed out on so many things."
Rob was basically in hiding for two years as he gained a substantial amount of weight and fell into depression. There were reports of drug use, and then in December 2015, he was diagnosed with diabetes.
"I've been friends with Chyna for a long time," Rob said. "She was someone I reached out to for advice. She would cook for me and we'd just talk. She's surrounded me with a lot of positivity. From the moment we met, I knew I wanted to be more than friends."
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Rob's outlook on his body, mind and future then changed once Chyna showed romantic interest in him and they began dating in January 2016. Within several months, Rob proposed and the lovebirds learned they have a baby on the way.
Chyna, 28, apparently loves Rob for who he is and supported him even at his worst, but she acknowledged there was room to improve his sense of self.
"I saw Rob was willing to better himself. I had never wanted to be tough. I never wanted to change him," she told the magazine.
"Chyna definitely motivates me," Rob insisted. Being with her got me over the insecurity of being out in public."
One major event Rob missed due to his fear of being seen in public was his sister Kim Kardashian's wedding to Kanye West in 2014. He reportedly made it all the way to Paris with his family but then skipped the rehearsal dinner as well as the Florence wedding.
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"I was doing my suit fittings in Paris right before the wedding and I just wasn't comfortable," Rob revealed. "I'm 6'1" and at my most I probably weighed 300 lbs."
Rob was "very unhappy with the person" he saw in pictures, and that's always hard to avoid when you're a member of the Kardashian clan.
"I'm upset I missed my sister's wedding but it was a personal decision," Rob told People.
He adopted the same attitude when it came to filming Keeping Up with the Kardashians -- he wanted to stay far away from cameras and live in seclusion at his sister Khloe Kardashian's house.
"I just wasn't down to have photographers follow me, so I made sure I was away from all of that. I'm very good at disappearing," Rob explained, adding that he missed "Christmases and birthdays and vacations" with his family despite their pleas to join the festivities.
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"I wasn't happy with myself so I didn't want my family to see me that way. [Khloe and I] butt heads about it. She's all about, 'your biggest revenge is your body,' and I'm trying to find happiness in my own way."
Rob confessed that seeking seclusion "definitely hurt a lot of people," but he vows to "never go to that place again."
"The way I dealt with my issues maybe wasn't the best, but nobody can make me happy but me. Now I want to see everybody in my family every chance I get. You never know what is going to happen tomorrow, and I don't want to do that to my mom [Kris Jenner]," Rob said.
"There were definitely dark days for me, and I'm still not fully happy looking at myself in the mirror. But I'm working towards that. And I'm happy."
Keeping Up with the Kardashians airs its mid-season finale on Sunday, September 4 at 9PM ET/PT. Rob & Chyna premieres the following week on Sunday, September 11 at 9PM ET/PT on E!
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski