Kourtney’s new beau might be more ‘mature’ than Scott
You likely won’t see Kourtney Kardashian‘s new beau making paid nightclub appearances like her ex Scott Disick.
At just 24 years old, Younes Bendjima has already worked as a professional boxer and model, but these days family, his personal life and self-improvement are his main priorities.
“My favorite things to do are spend quality time with people I love, take care of my family, work out every day and always think of how can I be a better than I am already,” Bendjima emailed to Page Six while vacationing in Cannes, where he has been photographed cozying up to Kardashian, 38, on yachts and Jet Skis.
Bendjima has made headlines in recent months thanks to his ties to the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star, but the Algerian-born hunk insists he’s “still the same” person he was before being thrust into the spotlight.
“There’s no pressure at all,” he told us. “I’m still the same. I don’t forget where I’m from. I care about the fam and still hang out with my home boys … I’m still doing my thing.”
He refused to confirm the status of his relationship with Kardashian. They were first linked at the end of 2016.
Discovered on the streets of New York at age 17 by his now-agent Gaspard Lukali, 6-foot-1 Bendjima, who has done print and runway work, now considers modeling “mostly a hobby.” He doesn’t have a dream campaign, per se; instead, he said he’d rather “go with the flow and focus on his work,” which also includes owning restaurants with his father in Algeria and France.
Bendjima said he started boxing at 11 with his uncle Faycal after reading articles about Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali, and though he’s no longer doing it professionally, he still trains three times per week.
Also a budding entrepreneur in the concierge services field, Bendjima said he’d consider creating a fragrance one day.
With so much on his plate, Bendjima takes time to blow off steam by traveling, as he’s doing glamorously with Kardashian in France. “I love traveling. I grew up in a very simple and modest family and didn’t get to explore the world … I left my comfort zone at the really young age of 17,” he shared with us.
Bendjima, who previously dated supermodel Jourdan Dunn, spends much of his time in Paris and New York, saying, “I have so much love for New York, this city helped me so much and made me so much more mature.”
As Kardashian continues to hang out with a “mature” Bendjima, Disick has been seen celebrating his upcoming 34th birthday at TAO Las Vegas and getting cozy with 19-year-old actress Bella Thorne in Cannes.
After a tumultuous relationship and fights over Disick’s partying ways, heavy drinking and alleged wandering eye that played out for the cameras, Disick and Kardashian officially split in July 2015. They have remained close to co-parent their three children — Mason, Penelope and Reign — and Disick appears to have worked through many of his issues following stints in rehab and therapy.
Editor’s note: This interview, conducted via email, has been translated from French to English.
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