Lamar Odom's DUI Is Real; MIA, Divorce Rumors Are Not

By Aditi Mukherji, JD on August 30, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Khloe Kardashian's NBA hubby Lamar Odom was arrested on suspicion of DUI this morning. The basketball player's coordination was apparently off on U.S. 101 in Los Angeles, where he was allegedly driving erratically just before 4 a.m.

While the DUI is all too real, recent reports that Odom went missing after a fight with Khloe and that the two are legally separating are apparently not true, according to various sources.

Here's what we know to be true, and what reports now say are not true, about Lamar Odom's ordeal:

True: Odom Arrested for DUI

Before Lamar Odom's DUI arrest, he was weaving in a "serpentine manner" on the freeway at about 50 mph in his white Mercedes SUV, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Odom displayed "objective signs of intoxication" and failed field sobriety tests, according to the California Highway Patrol. He was then arrested on suspicion of DUI and possibly drugs, according to the LA Times.

Upon arriving at jail, however, he refused to take chemical tests. In most states, a driver's refusal to submit to a chemical test may be used to enhance the penalties imposed if he or she is eventually convicted for DUI. So Odom's refusal may come back to bite him later on in court.

Apparently Not True: Odom's Missing Person Report, Divorce

Odom's DUI arrest comes after a bad week for Odom in the news, including rumors that he went missing. Odom's agent told ESPN the basketball player was "not missing" after getting into a fight with wife Khloe.

Another source told ESPN that he was at a hotel in Los Angeles during the time he was supposedly MIA. E! News received a tip that Odom was never missing, but was actually with Khloe the entire time.

In addition, sources have also vehemently denied the couple's divorce and legal separation rumors. The same E! News source said the couple has "never seen a divorce attorney."

Not to humblebrag or anything, but our recent blog post on the couple's potential separation was legally accurate. As this blog discussed on Monday, a legal separation is quite different from an informal separation (plus, you'll notice we took the veracity of the reports with a grain of salt).

Even though Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian haven't yet seen a divorce attorney, they may be contemplating the Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas route by taking a "marital time-out."

Informal separation is often an effective way for couples to regroup and reassess their relationship. An informal separation is especially useful during times of personal upheaval like what Odom and Kardashian seem to be experiencing.

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