Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson’s “Love Bite” Had the Internet Losing It During Their 2021 Romance
August 12, 2026: Pete Davidson stepped out for a date with Kim Kardashian in Los Angeles with a very noticeable mark on his neck, giving fans one more reason to believe the unlikely new couple was getting serious.
Pete Davidson did not need to say a word.
His neck was doing enough talking.
In November 2021, the Saturday Night Live star stepped out in Santa Monica for a dinner date with Kim Kardashian, and photographers spotted a large reddish mark on the left side of his neck. Almost immediately, the internet had a theory: a hickey.
The timing made the whole thing even more entertaining.
Kim and Pete had only recently become one of Hollywood’s most unexpected new couples. She was in the middle of her very public divorce from Kanye West. He was one of the most talked-about comedians of his generation. Their relationship had started after Kardashian hosted Saturday Night Live in October 2021, where she and Davidson shared a kiss during an Aladdin-and-Jasmine sketch.
Then came the dates.
The hand-holding.
The laughter.
And now, what appeared to be a love bite.
TMZ reported that the couple had dinner at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica on Nov. 21, 2021, with Davidson sporting what it described as a quarter-sized hickey on his neck.
The photographs instantly became another piece of evidence in a romance that neither star initially seemed eager to explain publicly.
One Little Mark Turned Into a Huge Kardashian-Pete Davidson Story
The date itself was hardly unusual by Hollywood standards.
Giorgio Baldi was already a celebrity favorite, and Kim and Pete were photographed leaving together after their private dinner. Kardashian wore an all-black outfit, while Davidson kept things casual in jeans, a jacket, T-shirt and baseball cap.
But then people noticed his neck.
Us Weekly reported that Davidson seemed to have a hickey, carefully stopping short of claiming that the mark had definitely come from Kardashian. E! Entertainment also described the mark as something that was difficult to confirm from the photographs, while reporting that the two appeared happy and were laughing together after dinner.
That uncertainty did not stop the internet.
If anything, it made the story more fun.
Fans began joking that Kardashian had left her mark on Davidson, turning an ordinary dinner outing into one of the most talked-about celebrity moments of the week.
The photos arrived at exactly the right moment for maximum public fascination.
Kim and Pete had already been spotted together in New York after her SNL hosting debut. Kardashian had appeared on the show while still legally married to West, although she had filed for divorce months earlier. Davidson was fresh off his own very public relationship history, and his reputation for dating famous women had already made him a constant subject of celebrity coverage.
The pairing was unexpected.
That was the appeal.
The Romance Had Gone From “What Is Happening?” to Very Real Very Quickly
The beginning of Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson’s relationship unfolded almost like a celebrity mystery.
They first sparked dating rumors after Kardashian hosted Saturday Night Live on Oct. 9, 2021. Their Aladdin sketch included a kiss, and the pair were photographed holding hands at Knott’s Scary Farm later that month.
By November, the relationship was becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss.
E! reported that the two were spending time together and that Kardashian was enjoying Davidson’s company.
Then came the restaurant date in Santa Monica.
Then came the neck mark.
For fans following every photograph, the sequence felt almost comically straightforward.
Nobody needed a grand red-carpet announcement.
Pete had apparently shown up with a giant mark on his neck.
And suddenly, the Kardashian-Davidson romance had acquired the kind of intimate detail usually associated with teenage crushes rather than two of the most recognizable people in American entertainment.
There was another reason the moment attracted so much attention: Kardashian and Davidson had very different public images.
Kim had spent years building the Kardashian brand around fashion, beauty, reality television and business. Davidson, meanwhile, had become famous for his raw stand-up comedy, SNL appearances and deliberately unpolished personality.
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On paper, they looked like an odd match.
In photographs, however, they looked comfortable.
They laughed together. They spent time together away from the spotlight. And Davidson seemed perfectly happy walking around Los Angeles with a mark on his neck that was impossible for photographers to miss.
Whether it was actually a hickey was never officially confirmed by either star.
That is the detail worth keeping.
Celebrity headlines often turn a photograph into a fact. In this case, the mark looked like a hickey, and several outlets reported on the possibility, but there was no public statement from Kim or Pete confirming its origin.
Still, the image became part of the early mythology of their relationship.
Kim and Pete Eventually Made the “Unexpected Couple” Feel Normal
The relationship did not remain a short-lived rumor.
Kardashian and Davidson dated from late 2021 until August 2022. Their relationship became increasingly public, with Kardashian eventually sharing photographs of the pair and Davidson becoming part of conversations around her family life.
Kardashian later discussed the care she took before introducing Davidson to her four children, explaining that she wanted to make sure the relationship was serious enough before bringing him into that part of her life.
That detail makes the early hickey photographs look almost quaint in hindsight.
At the time, fans were fascinated by a red mark on Pete’s neck.
What followed was a relationship that lasted roughly nine months and became one of the defining celebrity romances of 2021 and 2022.
Their relationship eventually ended, but the fascination never completely disappeared.
Even years later, their names are still connected whenever Kardashian and Davidson happen to appear in the same cultural conversation. In 2026, Kardashian attended Ariana Grande’s Los Angeles concert, another moment that attracted attention because Grande is also Davidson’s famous ex. PEOPLE noted the shared connection when covering Kardashian’s concert appearance.
Davidson has also spoken positively about Kardashian in more recent years. In 2026, he praised her acting abilities during an episode of The Pete Davidson Show, recalling her determination to pursue acting despite skepticism from others.
So, no, the famous neck mark did not tell the whole story.
But it captured something about that moment perfectly.
Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson were new, unexpected and impossible for the public to ignore. They were laughing together in Los Angeles, photographers were watching, and Pete walked out with a suspiciously large mark on his neck.
For a celebrity relationship that began with a comedy sketch, the whole thing had an almost absurdly perfect Hollywood quality.
A kiss on SNL.
A few secret dates.
A restaurant in Santa Monica.
And one very noticeable love bite.
The relationship eventually became part of both stars’ histories. But that first burst of excitement remains one of those celebrity moments that feels instantly recognizable even years later.
Sometimes Hollywood does not need a red carpet or a dramatic announcement.
Sometimes all it takes is a mark on someone’s neck.
FAQ
Did Pete Davidson really have a hickey while dating Kim Kardashian?
Pete Davidson was photographed with a large mark on his neck during a November 2021 dinner date with Kim Kardashian. Several outlets described it as a possible hickey, but neither Kardashian nor Davidson publicly confirmed what caused the mark.
When did Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson start dating?
Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson began dating in 2021 after Kardashian hosted Saturday Night Live in October. Their relationship became public after they were photographed together several times.
Where did Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson go on their famous date?
The pair had dinner at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica, California, in November 2021. Photographs from the evening showed them leaving together, with Davidson’s neck mark becoming the major talking point.
How long did Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson date?
Kardashian and Davidson dated from late 2021 until August 2022. Their relationship lasted around nine months and became one of the most heavily covered celebrity romances of that period.
How did Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson meet?
They became acquainted through Saturday Night Live. Kardashian hosted the show in October 2021, and she and Davidson appeared together in a sketch featuring Aladdin and Jasmine, including a kiss.
Are Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson together now?
No. Kardashian and Davidson ended their relationship in 2022. Both have since moved on with their personal lives and careers, although their former relationship continues to attract nostalgic attention online.