Kim Kardashian's Aussie lover

The reality TV queen rushes back into the arms of her Sydney-based ex-boyfriend Shengo Deane.

After calling an end to her much-hyped marriage after 72 days, it would’ve been only natural if a humiliated Kim Kardashian had opted to cancel all her upcoming engagements and lie low. Indeed, her “devastated” husband of less than three months, basketballer Kris Humphries, pulled the plug last week on a heavily promoted Las Vegas hosting gig, explaining he was “willing to do whatever it takes” to make their marriage work.

Meanwhile, Kim carried on with her business arrangements, boarding a flight to Sydney, where she was due to promote her family’s new line of handbags, and landed smack-bang in the middle of a media frenzy. While many have congratulated the reigning queen of reality television on her extraordinary work ethic, some close to 31-year-old Kim suspect an ulterior motive for making the trip to Australia. Woman’s Day has learned the curvy Keeping Up With The Kardashians star is still hung up on her Sydney-based ex-boyfriend and former bodyguard Shengo Deane, and had hoped to reconnect with him while Down Under.

“Everything in Kim’s life is scripted, but her passion for Shengo was the real thing,” a well-placed insider tells us. “Heading to Australia is the perfect opportunity to mend her heart with a guy that she’s honestly crazy about.” The pair had a brief but intense relationship last year and had even discussed marriage, but the lovebirds were cruelly torn apart when Shengo’s US visa ran out and he had to return to Oz. “I’m so sad that you have to go,” a heartbroken Kim cried when she learned their fate. “It’s really hard to have a connection with someone and then they just leave, and you have no idea when you will ever see them again.” Shengo, 31, who is single after recently separating from his wife, was the only man who made Kim feel safe, friends say. The brunette beauty had even briefly toyed with the idea of following him to Australia.

Instead, the pair kept in touch via text messages, continuing to talk even after Kim’s marriage to 26-year-old Kris. “It bothered him [Kris] when he found out, but she said they were just friends,” one mate reveals. Yet while Kim accepted Kris’s proposal after just six months of dating, she had every reason to believe a quickie wedding would lead to lasting love – it’s a family tradition! Khloe married her husband of two years, 31-year-old basketballer Lamar Odom, after only one month together, and her “momager” (mother/manager) Kris Jenner wed her second husband, Bruce Jenner, within months of meeting him. Pressure from mum Kris was also believed to be a factor in Kim’s decision. A family source tells us that Kris, who manages all the Kardashian careers, has been the driving force behind the wedding. “From day one, she’s been keen for them to get married,” reveals the source.