Before Khloé Kardashian. Before reality TV. Before the fame. There was Liza Morales. She was with Lamar Odom for 12 years. She had three children with him: Destiny, Lamar Jr, and Jayden. When baby Jayden died from SIDS in 2006, Lamar turned to cocaine. And Liza was left raising Destiny and Lamar Jr alone while Lamar spiraled.

On March 31, 2026, Netflix released “Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom.” For the first time, Liza Morales is telling her side of the story. This is the story of the woman who held everything together when Lamar couldn’t.

Who Is Liza Morales?

Liza Morales met Lamar Odom in high school. They were teenagers when they started dating. By the time Lamar was drafted into the NBA in 1999, Liza was already pregnant with their first child.

Liza wasn’t just Lamar’s girlfriend. She was his partner. The mother of his children. The person who believed in him before the world knew his name.

1998-2005: Building a Family With Lamar

Liza Morales and Lamar Odom built a family together over the course of 12 years (1996-2008).

Destiny Odom – Born 1998

Liza gave birth to Destiny Odom in 1998, when Lamar was still a college basketball player at the University of Rhode Island. He was drafted into the NBA by the LA Clippers in 1999, and Liza made the difficult decision to move from New York to Los Angeles with baby Destiny to support Lamar’s career.

Liza never really wanted to move to LA. She was worried that the new city and the money would corrupt Lamar. But she wanted to support him—and she wanted Destiny to have her father in her life.

Lamar Odom Jr – Born 2002

Four years after Destiny was born, Liza and Lamar welcomed their second child: Lamar Odom Jr, often called “LJ.”

By this point, Lamar was establishing himself as an NBA player. Liza was managing the home, raising two young children, and trying to keep their family stable despite Lamar’s demanding career.

Jayden Odom – Born 2005, Died 2006

On December 15, 2005, Liza gave birth to their third child: Jayden Odom.

For Liza and Lamar, Jayden completed their family. They had Destiny, Lamar Jr, and now baby Jayden. Everything felt whole.

But that wholeness would last less than seven months.

June 29, 2006: The Day That Changed Everything

On June 29, 2006, Liza Morales was home in New York with her children. Six-month-old Jayden was sleeping in his crib.

And then he wasn’t breathing.

Jayden Odom died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Liza was home when it happened. She was the one who found him. She was the one who lived through every parent’s worst nightmare.

Lamar was on the road for basketball, already in town for an aunt’s funeral. Now he had to bury his infant son too.

How Jayden’s Death Destroyed Liza & Lamar’s Relationship

Grief doesn’t always bring people together. Sometimes it tears them apart.

After Jayden died, Lamar couldn’t process the grief. He turned to cocaine. He started disappearing. He became unreliable.

And Liza? She was left alone—raising Destiny and Lamar Jr while mourning the loss of baby Jayden and watching her partner spiral into addiction.

By 2008—two years after Jayden’s death—their 12-year relationship was over.

Raising Destiny & Lamar Jr Alone While Lamar Spiraled

After Jayden’s death and the end of her relationship with Lamar, Liza Morales became a single mother to Destiny and Lamar Jr.

And it wasn’t just that Lamar was absent. It was that he was actively struggling with addiction—disappearing for days, making promises he couldn’t keep, choosing drugs over his children.

Liza Was Both Mom and Dad

While Lamar was winning NBA championships with the Lakers in 2009 and 2010, Liza was managing:

• School pickups and drop-offs
• Homework help
• Bedtime routines
• Doctor’s appointments
• Emotional support for two kids grieving their baby brother and missing their dad

Liza didn’t have a co-parent. She had an ex-partner who was battling demons she couldn’t control.

2009: Finding Out About Lamar’s Wedding Via Text Message

In September 2009, Lamar Odom met Khloé Kardashian. Thirty days later, they got married—on television, on E!’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

And how did Liza find out? Via a text message from Lamar, followed by a phone call.

“Of course when you decide to get married to somebody in 30 days, it’s going to hurt,” Liza said in the Netflix documentary. “Then on top of that, let me just stick it to you a little bit more. It’s going to be on television.”

The Tabloids Made It Worse

Liza couldn’t escape it. Everywhere she went, Lamar and Khloé’s wedding was plastered across tabloid covers.

“And then he got married on TV, and I couldn’t go to my local CVS pharmacy without seeing it all over the tabloids, and it was just always in my face, so it made it harder to heal,” Liza said.

Imagine raising your ex’s children alone—while the entire world celebrates his new televised wedding to a celebrity. That’s what Liza lived through.

October 2015: Liza Held Destiny & Lamar Jr Together Again

On October 13, 2015, Lamar Odom was found unconscious at a Nevada brothel after a drug overdose. He suffered 12 strokes, 6 heart attacks, and multiple organ failure.

While Khloé rushed to Lamar’s bedside (pausing their pending divorce), Liza Morales was at home with Destiny (17) and Lamar Jr (13)—holding them together as they faced the reality that they might lose their father.

Once again, Liza was the one providing stability. The one managing the crisis. The one keeping Destiny and Lamar Jr from falling apart.

2022: Liza Sues Lamar for $400K in Unpaid Child Support

In 2022, Liza Morales sued Lamar Odom for $400,000 in unpaid child support dating back to 2020.

She won.

Think about what that means: Lamar—an NBA player who earned over $114 million during his career—hadn’t been paying child support for the children Liza had raised mostly alone.

The lawsuit was Liza’s way of holding Lamar accountable. After years of being the only reliable parent, she demanded that he step up financially, if not emotionally.

2022: Liza Publishes “Cutting Trauma Ties”

That same year, Liza Morales published a tell-all book titled “Cutting Trauma Ties.”

The book details what it was like being with Lamar during his addiction, raising Destiny and Lamar Jr through chaos and grief, and finding the strength to move on.

For Liza, the book was cathartic. It was her chance to tell her side of the story—the story of the woman who held everything together when Lamar couldn’t.

2026: Liza Speaks Out in Netflix Documentary

On March 31, 2026, Netflix released “Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom.” Liza Morales appears in the documentary, speaking openly about:

• Jayden’s death and its impact
• Lamar’s addiction and how it affected Destiny and Lamar Jr
• Finding out about the Khloé wedding via text
• Raising two kids mostly alone
• The path to forgiveness

Liza Has Forgiven Lamar

In the documentary, Liza says she’s forgiven Lamar.

“There is no hate in my heart towards Lamar, only forgiveness, loads of it,” Liza said.

But forgiveness doesn’t erase the past. It doesn’t erase the years she spent being the only parent Destiny and Lamar Jr could count on. It doesn’t erase the pain of watching the man she loved choose drugs over their family.

Forgiveness is Liza’s gift to herself—not to Lamar.

Liza Morales Today

Liza Morales is in her mid-40s now. She’s moved on from Lamar. She raised Destiny (28) and Lamar Jr (24) into resilient, strong adults despite everything they went through.

Destiny now has a relationship with her father—fragile, but rebuilding. Lamar Jr works with Lamar in the recovery business, though he knows relapse is always a possibility.

And Liza? She’s the reason Destiny and Lamar Jr survived. She was the constant. The stability. The parent who showed up.

Final Thoughts: Liza Morales’s Strength

Liza Morales spent 12 years with Lamar Odom. She had three children with him. When baby Jayden died in 2006, Lamar turned to cocaine. And Liza was left raising Destiny and Lamar Jr alone.

She watched Lamar marry Khloé Kardashian on TV after 30 days. She held her children together when Lamar nearly died in 2015. She sued him for unpaid child support in 2022. She published a book about cutting trauma ties.

And through it all, she raised two kids who are still standing.

Liza Morales didn’t get the credit she deserved while Lamar was famous. But her strength—finally being recognized—is undeniable.