Just days after sharing a series of Instagram photos of iconic couples through the years, Kanye West deleted Instagram once again. The rapper made a brief return to Instagram this week after deleting his Twitter and Instagram accounts last May. But it looks like all good things must come to an end — and with Kanye's Instagram posting spree, we didn't know what we had until it was gone.
On Wednesday, aka Valentine's Day, Kanye shared dozens of images of iconic couples over the years. Some of the couples, like the Obamas, are still together. Others, like Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, are not. Some of the people Kanye included in the images are also no longer living. And some people, including Pamela Anderson, showed up in more than one of Kanye's posts. Plus, in the case of Sex and the City's (series casting: Jennifer McNamara, 93 episodes) Mr. Big and Carrie Bradshaw, at least one of the photos Kanye shared was of a fictional couple. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the posts, although Kanye did end the posting spree in a way that was fitting of Valentine's Day. The last two images Kanye shared were of himself and his wife, Kim Kardashian, and he labeled them "Kimye."
Before sharing the vintage photos of various couples, Kanye had also posted what appeared to be a Valentine's Day tribute to Kardashian. The photo included a simple card that read "Happy Valentine's Day Babe." There was no explanation behind that photo or the ones he shared of various couples — in those images, the only captions provided were the names of the people pictured. Kim Kardashian's more traditional Valentine's Day message to her husband is still available on Instagram, though. Kardashian shared a photo of the two of them along with the caption, "I love you to infinity! Happy Valentine’s Day!!!"
If you try to visit Instagram.com/KanyeWest now, you'll get the "Sorry, this page isn't available" message. (An attempt to visit @KanyeWest on Twitter will yield a similar result, the "Sorry, that page doesn't exist!" error page.)
This isn't the first time Kanye has had an erratic social media presence. When Kanye deleted his Instagram and Twitter accounts last year, fans were shocked. We still don't know why Kanye deactivated his social media handles before, or why he made a brief return this week. But that hasn't stopped fans from sharing their disappointment in the fact that, once again, Kanye's Instagram is gone, and we don't know when he'll be back.
Others praised Kanye's apparent social media strategy, suggesting that the entire reactivation to deletion process was solely in honor of Kardashian.
And some fans were just hoping the rapper would eventually reactivate his Twitter account. After all, Kanye did have a way with words on his Twitter account.
Maybe Kanye always intended his return to Instagram to be a temporary thing. After all, plenty of people were talking about his new posts almost as soon as he shared them. And if Kanye does decide to return to Instagram or Twitter again in the future, it's clear he has an audience that's very invested in what he shares, no matter the length of his return.
Even if we can't see West's recent Instagram photos anymore, his Valentine's Day message for Kardashian is a sweet reminder that the two of them are just as in love as ever. And with the arrival of their third child, Chicago West, they have plenty to keep them busy outside the social media sphere. Could Kanye's next return to Instagram be a tribute to his children? Only time will tell, but we'll be eagerly anticipating his next social media move whenever it happens next.
