Travis Barker: who is Kourtney Kardashian dating, how long have they been dating and does he have kids?

For anyone keeping up with the Kardashians, eldest sister Kourtney revealed in February that she is romantically involved with Blink 182 drummer, Travis Barker.

While original fans of Kourtney continue to compare Barker to her children’s father and long-term on-off partner Scott Disick, Barker has made in clear in recent Instagram posts that they are exclusive.

So, who is he and does he have children too? This is what you need to know.

Who is Travis Barker?

Travis Landon Barker is an American musician, songwriter and producer best known as the drummer in rock band Blink-182, though he is also a member of rap rock band Transplants.

Barker was raised in California with his two siblings and parents. His mother Gloria passed away on his first day of high school after suffering from Sjögren syndrome.

He began taking drumming lessons aged six and he continued to refine his musical talents throughout school while also describing himself as a ‘stoner’ during his time at high school.

The drummer left school and became a binman, while performing with several local punk bands. He then replaced the original drummer for Blink in 1997 and soon became an international star.

Barker has enjoyed a successful drumming career, named by Rolling Stones magazine as one of the top 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time, as well as “Punk's first superstar drummer”.

As well as his successful career as a drummer, the 45-year-old founded clothing company Famous Stars and Straps in 1999 and LaSalle Records in 2004.

Barker was involved in a plane crash in 2008 when the plane wheel went on fire during takeoff, he was treated for his burns in hospital for 11 weeks, and ABC News later reported he was in so much pain he offered to pay friends $1M to end his life.

He released a memoir titled ‘Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums, in 2015’, where he talks about his lifelong fear of flying and now refuses to fly, choosing to take a boat to Europe and a tour bus everywhere else.

He also became a vegan in 2008, having been a vegetarian since the 1990s.

Has he been married and does he have kids?

Barker has been married twice and has two children.

In 2001, he married Melissa Kennedy but the two divorced only nine months later.

He then began dating former Miss USA Shanna Moakler and in October 2003, she gave birth to his first child, a son named Landon Asher.

One year later, in October 2004 the couple married in a wedding inspired by dark animated film ‘Nightmare before Christmas’.

They then starred in reality TV show, Meet the Barkers, which followed them as Barker released his final tour with Blink and the production of Transplant’s album.

Moakler welcomed their second child, a daughter named Alabama Luella Barker, on 24 December 2005.

Barker and Moakler split in August 2006, announcing it on their MySpace pages. The divorce was heavily publicised and Barker subsequently became addicted to consuming excessive amounts of prescription medication, marijuana and alcohol.

He credits the life-changing plane crash in 2008 as saving him from further addiction, as this was when he decided to completely give up pain medication, alcohol and illicit drugs. At this point he took up running and swimming and became vegan.

How did he meet Kourtney Kardashian?

Barker and Kourtney have known each other for some years, but only recently officially started dating.

He has previously dated Kim Kardashian’s friend Paris Hilton, who Kim also worked for in the early noughties.

The drummer had commented on his attraction to Kim in 2015, saying “How could you not stare at Kim?

“Mind you, I enjoyed hanging out with Paris, but I love curvy girls. Kim was eye candy.

“I was [in] no way disrespectful to Paris, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off Kim.”

However, he has never been romantically involved with Kim and in 2018 he collaborated with her husband, Kanye West on the track "One Minute".

At the time, Kourtney was dating Younes Bendjima but the couple went their separate ways later in 2018

In March 2019, Barker denied rumours he was dating Kourtney Kardashian, stating: “Kourtney’s like a dear friend. That’s it.

“I mean, I love her to death. I love her family to death. But yeah, just friends.”

The pair lived in the same gated community in Calabasas, California for years and his two children are thought to be friendly with the eldest two of Kourtney’s brood - Mason and Penelope.

She also has son Reign, all of whom are with her ex-partner and long term friend, Scott Disick.

Kourtney and Travis were spotted together at the Palm Springs home of her mum - ‘momager’ Kris Jenner - in January 2021.

Reports at the time stated sources close to the couple said they were ‘smitten’ with one another.

However, it was not until 16 February that Kardashian revealed they are official. In a post on her Instagram to her 111 million followers, she shared a picture of their two hands clasped together.

The picture has already been liked over 2 million times.

What do Barker’s tattoos mean?

Barker has over 100 tattoos, which are almost as famous as his music.

Some of the most notable are the portrait of his daughter on his back, as well as the words ‘Landon’ and ‘Alabama’ on each wrist, the name of his two children.

The ‘SELF MADE’ tattoo on his knuckles is in honour of his success as an artist, he explained the tattoo was inked in 2000 because: “I’ve worked for everything I have. I don’t really have anyone to thank for my hand through it all, and making me what I am.”

Barker has “One Life One Chance” scribed on the top of his head, One Life One Chance is the name of a non-profit organisation founded in 2009 by Toby Morse, the lead singer of the band H2O.

Barker is a member of the organisation and in 2012, he said: “I support what Toby is doing for the youth. It’s good that these kids can see that not every rockstar is a drug addict and he is such a positive, all-around role model for them.”

The drummer has a love for Cadillacs, which could be the reason behind the huge ‘Cadillac’ scribe up the right-hand-side of his torso, alongside a 1947 Cadillac emblem.

The ‘Can I Say’ tattoo on his neck is in tribute to the first album of band ‘Dag Nasty’, an American punk rock band from Washington D.C. Barker has spoken of his love for the band, as a young man growing up.The boombox and angel wings on his stomach are a tribute to his love for music, he has said of the tattoo: “I grew up loving to break-dance and I collected ghetto blasters. I had like 20 of them.”