Regardless of whether you religiously watch The Kardashians or would struggle to name each Kardashian, anyone with an Instagram account likely saw the images from Portofino, Italy. Dressed in ever the dapper suit, Travis Barker stood alongside bride, Kourtney Kardashian, in an intimate ceremony featuring just some of the biggest names in Hollywood – those of the Kardashian clan. Despite having tied the knot in an earlier courthouse wedding back in Santa Monica, this was the kind of wedding that would see women around the world use it as future inspiration.
But while Barker’s union with Kourtney has been the stuff of media headlines of late, it’s fair to say that the drummer – one of the most successful and instantly recognisable in the world – has always been a magnate for worldwide attention. As someone who lives the rock n’ roll lifestyle, Barker is used to having cameras pointed at him, only mostly such fascination occurs when the man is onstage, playing in front of thousands of adoring fans.
Now though, with the recent streaming of The Kardashians, viewers have been treated to a new side of Barker: that of a family man, devoted husband, and father undergoing IVF alongside his wife. A major storyline in the more recent season has been that of Kourtney and Barker’s desire to have a child together, requiring them to undergo IVF. Speaking about making such a private part of his life public, Barker told GQ that he doesn’t “give a fuck.”
“I don’t care if I’m cumming in a cup, or whatever,” he told the publication. “It’s real life. And if any of that can help people – seeing Kourtney’s journey through IVF, which is super hard for a woman. You saw her struggle with it and talk about it. That’s real. And there’s however many millions of dudes that have to go give their semen for this same procedure. So it’s, like, relatable, you know? I’ve never been fazed by any of that.”
Both Kourtney and Barker have been open about their IVF journey and desire to add to an already blended family. Currently, Kourtney has three kids – songs Reign Aston, 7, and Mason Dash, 12, and daughter Penelope Scotland, 10. Barker is also dad to daughter Alabama Luella, 16 and son Landon Asher, 19.
For Kourtney, it’s been a particularly difficult time as she’s had to field questions about her pregnancy constantly on social media, with fans continuing to speculate about her fertility. “Every single person on social media is always like, ‘Kourtney’s pregnant, Kourtney’s pregnant, Kourtney’s gained so much weight,’ she told her mum. “I’m like, it’s so rude to comment on people when you have no idea what they’re actually going through.”
She also admitted to feeling pressure to do IVF due to her age, despite the fact that the experience had “taken a toll” on her physical and mental health. “I felt like we kind of got pushed into doing IVF,” she said on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast. “If you look online, it says if you’re over 40 go right away to an IVF doctor. So I felt a little bit pushed.”
It might not quite be the kind of publicity the Blink-182 drummer is used to, but Barker hopes that by documenting this part of his life, other men will feel encouraged to have conversations around IVF and fertility struggles, and be more open to talking about it, both amongst friends and with their partners.
