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Travis Barker Details How Falling in Love With Kourtney Kardashian Helped Heal Past Trauma
Travis Barker is recognizing Kourtney Kardashian’s impact on his life.
Indeed, the Blink-182 drummer—who survived a deadly plane crash in 2008 before flying again for the first time in 2021—shared how The Kardashians star has supported him through his deepest traumas.
“Falling in love again, my wife gave me so much hope to where I ended up flying again,” Barker exclusively told E! News at the world premiere of Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear at the Tribeca Film Festival June 13, “and believed that I could do it and now my kids fly. It's just insane.”
And Barker—who shares kids Alabama Barker, 20, and Landon Barker, 22, with ex-wife Shanna Moakler, as well as 2-year-old son Rocky Thirteen Barker with Kardashian—also has his children to thank for where he is today.
“The power of love is amazing,” he said. “My kids were my strength from the time they existed.”
In 2008, a private plane carrying Barker as well as his friend Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, assistant Chris Baker and security guard Charles Still crashed after the tires blew during takeoff. Baker, Still and both of the plane’s pilots were killed in the tragedy.
Though Barker managed to escape the aircraft with AM, he suffered third-degree burns over most of his body. Since then, the music legend—who was previously known to travel by bus or boat following the accident—has been open about healing his emotional wounds from the crash.
“I was dark,” he told Men’s Health in 2021. “I couldn’t walk down the street. If I saw a plane [in the sky], I was determined it was going to crash, and I just didn’t want to see it.”
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for The Commons at Calabasas
With therapy, the 50-year-old noted how those thoughts have gotten quieter over the years, so much so that he took his first flight post-crash alongside Kardashian—who shares kids Mason Disick, 16, Penelope Disick, 13, and Reign Disick, 11, with ex Scott Disick—in 2021.
“It’s gotten better the further I get away from it,” he explained. “The closer I was to it, it felt like I was closer to the bad stuff than I am to the good stuff. I felt closer to the experience of trying to escape, [to] being in an accident and being burned, trying to grab my friends from a burning plane.”
“That haunted me for a long time,” he added. “And as long as I was closer to that than this good stuff, I was always thinking about that. Now it’s been so many years, it’s getting easier for me. There are days where I’ll wake up and never think about it.”
For more on the couple's blended family, read on…
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for GQ
Celebrating Dad
Kourtney Kardashian and husband Travis Barker were joined by his son Landon Barker—who he and ex Shanna Moakler share alongside daughter Alabama Barker and Atiana De La Hoya, her daughter with Oscar De La Hoya—at GQ's Men of the Year party in November 2022.
Instagram / Kourtney Kardashian
Mom & Me Mirror Selfie
Penelope Disick—who Kourtney and ex Scott Disick share alongside sons Mason Disick and Reign Disick—appeared with her mother in a 2024 vacation selfie from Australia.
Kourtney Kardashian/Instagram
Hello, Coachella!
Kourtney and Landon went to Coachella 2026.
Kourtney Kardashian/Instagram
Behind the Scenes
The Kardashians star shared a glimpse into her shoot with Alabama.
Instagram / Kourtney Kardashian
Australian Summer
Reign and Penelope enjoyed some fun in the sun during their 2024 family trip to Australia for Blink-182's tour.
Instagram / Travis Barker
Kravis Down Under
Kourtney and Travis stopped for photo ops while in Australia.
Instagram/@kourtneykardashian
Boys Club
In honor of Landon's 20th birthday in October 2023, Kourtney shared a throwback photo from six years earlier of the then-teenager hanging out with Mason.
Girl Gang
Alabama snapped a silly selfie with Atiana, Kourtney and Penelope, during The Kardashians star's May 2022 wedding with Travis.
Here Comes the Bride
Kourtney took a break from her wedding festivities in to pose for a selfie with Alabama.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for ABA
Meet the Kardashian-Barkers
All in the family: Alabama, Reign, Travis and London joined Kourtney at the April 2022 premiere of The Kardashians.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
Front Row
Kourtney's oldest son Mason, Alabama and Atiana tagged along for Travis and Kourtney's front row outing at the AMIRI fashion show in February 2022.
Alabama and Penelope
'Tis the season to share sweet throwbacks. Kourtney celebrated Alabama's Christmas Eve birthday in 2022 with an older snap of the birthday girl and Penelope.
Birthday Bunch
Kourtney, Travis, Alabama, Atiana, Landon and Reign posed at Disneyland for Kourtney's birthday outing in April 2022.
Magic Kingdom
Why, yes, it was the happiest place on earth to mark Kourtney's 43rd birthday.
The Three Mouseketeers
Landon, Atiana and Kourtney found the magic for this fun snapshot.
Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Tommy Hilfiger
A Fashionable Family
Kourtney and Travis took Alabama to Tommy Factory's New York Fashion Week show in September 2022.
A Portrait by Penelope
Penelope the artist! Travis shared her drawing of him in a March 2022 post.
Family Portraits
On Christmas Eve 2021, a newly engaged Kourtney (with Penelope) got merry with her soon-to-be husband and his crew.
Fun and Games
Travis and Penelope enjoyed a game of checkers, while Kourtney and matriarch MJ Houghton observed the action.
The Sweetest Age of All
For Alabama's 16th birthday in December 2021, Kourtney and Travis surprised her with balloons that spelled out "BAMA 16."
Sharing the moment, Travis captioned the post, "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!"
TikTok / @pandkourt
TikTok Fun
Travis appeared with Kourtney and Penelope in a 2021 TikTok video posted to the mother-daughter pair's joint account.
Welcome to the Fam
"So happy for you guys," Travis' daughter Alabama wrote on a photo celebrating the couple's October 2021 engagement. "I love u both!"
Instagram / Kourtney Kardashian
Amusement Park Fun
Landon joined his dad and Kourtney for some Halloween 2021 fun at Knott's Scary Farm in Southern California.
All the Halloween Activities
Kourtney recruited her son Mason for a trip to Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights with Travis and his daughter Alabama in 2022.
Frankenstein Friends
Atiana posed as the Bride of Frankenstein to Reign's Frankenstein's monster during the spooky outing.
Costume Cutie
Penelope horned in on the fun in a devil costume as the crew headed to the Los Angeles immersive jack-o-lantern experience Nights of the Jack in 2021.
A Memorable Moment
During their Nights of the Jack adventure, Alabama captured Travis and Penelope sharing a sweet moment as he walked around carrying her on his shoulders.
The Ultimate Throwback
Even before they were dating, Travis and Kourtney were friends for years. Just look at this throwback photo of Mason, Landon, Alabama and Penelope from 2017.
Rockstar Training
Dare we say this birthday present rocks? Travis gifted Penelope a state-of-the-art drum set for her ninth birthday in July 2021.
Family Photo
The couple made their own fireworks when they celebrated the Fourth of July at Disneyland with Landon, Alabama and Reign in 2021.
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