THE KARDASHIANS have lived in the limelight for decades, but one member of the family tends to shy away from the spotlight.
Fans were stunned to see the Kardashian's reclusive male sibling, Rob Kardashian, in the background of a video his sister, Khloé Kardashian, posted celebrating her 40th birthday.
Khloé Kardashian posted a video on her Instagram on Thursday, June 27, 2024, marking the reality TV star's 40th birthday.
The video included a montage of selfies and videos of Khloé over the years, with some snapshots including her family, friends, and children, True and Tatum.
The video also included a new photo of Khloé posing in her birthday fit, and a short clip of the Good American founder blowing out dozens of candles on an elegant, grey-colored, rose-adorned cake.
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Eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot a few cameo appearances in the background of Khloé's birthday celebration.
The star's brother, Rob Kardashian, best friend, Malika Haqq, and grandmother, Mary Jo "MJ" Campbell, sat around a formal dining table as she blew out her candles.
While Malika and MJ regularly appeared on Keeping Up With The Kardashians and its successor, Hulu's The Kardashians, Rob Kardashian has stayed out of the spotlight in recent years.
While the family has never publicly addressed Rob's "retirement" from the public eye, they maintain that he's focused on being a great father.
Rob co-parents his daughter, Dream Kardashian, with his ex-girlfriend, Angela Renée White, also known as Blac Chyna.
His social media accounts are relatively dormant, and he only occasionally posts on Instagram.
One of his last posts on the platform was a birthday shoutout to Khloé in 2023.
While it's unclear if the entire family continues to support Rob behind the scenes, Khloé has always maintained a close relationship with her younger brother.
The duo are both water signs – Khloé is a Cancer, and Rob is a Pisces – which may indicate their closeness, and are only three years apart in age.
"Deeply Grateful For Every Moment," Khloé captioned the video, alongside a sparkle and white heart emojis.
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"I love you! I am so excited and thankful for this fresh decade and all it has in store!!!"
The video also used a famous audio, titled "the thing about birthdays," by Instagram user @eviewhy.
"What they don't tell you about birthdays is when you turn a year older you're also all the years that came before that year," the audio starts.
"I just turned 28, but I'm also still 27, and 26, and 23, and 19, and 11, and seven, and one."
"When you wake up on your birthday, you expect to feel your new age, but you don't."
"You open your eyes and everything is just like yesterday, only it's today, and you don't feel your new age at all."
"I still feel like I'm 27, and I am, underneath the year that makes me 28."
"See one day, I may say something stupid, and that's the part of me that's 19, or maybe some days I don't trust myself, and that's the part of me that's 23."
"And for no reason at all, I need to cry like a little baby, and that's the part of me that's one."
"Because the way we grow older is kinda like an onion, each year inside the next one, and our birthdays are just a celebration of all the years that came before, and a welcoming of the next."
Khloé also shared several birthday shoutouts on her Instagram Stories, including birthday messages from Fabletics, Jen Atkin, Lala, Foodgod, and her own brand, Good American.
Corey Gamble, Sabrina Porsche, Kourtney Kardashian, Khadijah Haqq, Tracy Romulus, Ellen Degeneres, Simon Huck, and Kris Jenner rounded out the birthday shoutouts.
Rob's daughter, Dream, also made Khloé a poster card filled with photos of the duo.
"Happy Birthday Auntie Koko," the card read.
"You are the best, I love you Koko," Dream added.
Khloé even received a special birthday video message from Dolly Parton.
"You guys...she knows my name, she knows my name, oh my gosh!" the star squealed.
