Travis Barker recalls past marriage with Melissa Kennedy

Travis Barker reveals his first love story with wife Melissa Kennedy.

On August 13, during a Hulu documentary, Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear, Travis shared his first marriage to his first wife, Melissa Kennedy, and how their romance ultimately fizzled out due to his busy tour schedule in his mid-20s.

He added further, “I was touring with Blink non-stop. It was tough, especially since I was married at the time. I kind of realized that the relationship wasn’t working out for either of us anymore”.

The 50-year-old said their marriage ended when he and Kennedy got into a “huge blowout,” with him deciding to focus on his then-blossoming music career. “I went back to L.A. soon after that,” Barker continued, “and life just kept getting crazier and crazier.”

The couple divorced in 2002 after less than a year of marriage. But while Barker soon found love again with his second wife, Moakler, with whom he shares stepdaughter Atiana de la Hoya, now 27, son Landon Barker, 22, and daughter Alabama Barker, 20—his continued work in Blink-182 as well as his side projects Transplants, Box Car Racer and +44 took a toll on his personal life.

“Balancing home life and touring, our relationship was getting more and more challenging,” Barker recalled of his relationship with the former Miss USA. “Divorce came soon after.”

As for how he and Kardashian, 47, ended up together? It took some time for the two to take their longtime friendship to the next level. After all, Barker didn’t even make a move until years after Kardashian’s 2015 breakup from Scott Disick, with whom she shares kids Mason Disick, 16, Penelope Disick, 13, Reign Disick, 11.

“All my guy friends would be like, ‘Man, what are you waiting for?'” Barker remembered. “I would literally come home from the studio at 6 a.m. from working all night and wake up two hours later to work out with her, just because I wanted to see her.”

Kourtney Kardashian confirmed her relationship with Travis Barker in February 2021 by posting a photo of her red heart manicured fingers interlocking with his tattooed ones, several day after spending Valentine’s Day together. Travis reposted the image on his Instagram Story and commented with a black heart emoji, kicking off Kravis’ PDA parade.