In the case of Kim Kardashian and Van Jones, we find the pair not guilty of a romance.
Last summer, the SKIMS founder and the CNN host found themselves making headlines for their friendship. So many people suspected that the pair could be dating that Andy Cohen even addressed the rumors during the Keeping Up With the Kardashians reunion show.
But in a new interview on the Amazon Original podcast Uncommon Ground With Van Jones, Kim and Van cleared the air together.
"Now that we're broken up, we can actually have a conversation in public," Van joked. "Best rumor ever."
Kim agreed, saying that she "didn't really expect" all the speculation surrounding her friendship with someone she considers a close mentor. "So many people asked me," she said. "I was like, ‘You guys…I need a minute before I'm out there.'"
The romance rumors came just months after Kim filed for divorce from Kanye West in February 2021. While she is currently dating Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, the reality star said at the time that she needed time to heal from her divorce before jumping back into the dating world.
As for Van, who split from wife Jana Carter in 2018, he also received plenty of questions from his friends, many who expressed doubt that the rumors were true.
"I know it was so weird," he said. "But I tell you being a big nerd, having all my guys from college calling thinking I was like the hero. I was like, ‘No, we're just working on trying to get people outta prison.' But it was a cool rumor."
Today, the pair remains close friends as Kim continues to work on legal reform and studies to become a lawyer of her own. Van has his law degree from Yale University.
During the chat, Kim also recalled the conversation she once had with her father Robert Kardashian about being an attorney.
"I always wanted to go to law school. I was always really interested in the stuff that he was doing," Kim said. "I remember we were in high school and my sister and all of our friends were out by the pool in the summer and I was in my dad's office upstairs in the home office. I was going through evidence books and I was looking through things and I was so intrigued."