Kris Humphries Talks Marriage to Kim Kardashian: "To Me It Was Real"

Basketballer opens up about his high-profile split, defending the union's legitimacy and talking about how he's doing in the wake of the headlines

Going through a divorce is never easy—for either party. And Kris Humphries seems to have found a way to move forward while respecting his past.

Just as importantly, he's not working through his split from Kim Kardashian without a safety net—which, in his case, is an actual net…

The basketballer sat down with Access Hollywood this week and quickly defended his marriage to the E! reality star, which played out on the just-finished season of Kourtney and Kim Take New York.

"I mean, to me it was real," he said. "You know, I would never go through something, do something, that wasn't real or I didn't believe in, so I can really only speak for myself in terms of that."

Still, though it's been a public and often rough road, Humphries is handling it as best anyone could and taking particular refuge in his love of the game.

"I'm in a great place—above all, my faith in God, and just how close my family is, and then the fact that, you know, luckily we didn't get locked out all season and we're playing basketball.

"You know, basketball is where you can go and not think about anything and just let loose. I always tell people basketball is like my therapy. Some people talk to psychologists, and I just go and play basketball."

So, is Kris ready to move on romantically?

"I'm not dating," he said, prompting his interview to ask whether he was dating the game itself. "My girlfriend is Spalding."