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Kim Kardashian Returns To Social Media

After a months-long social media hiatus and retreat from the public eye, Kim Kardashian posted her first photo since the Paris robbery to Instagram Tuesday, marking her resurgence to the realm of popular culture. The icon has been absent from the very public spaces she traditionally occupies, and on which her fame hinges, since she suffered an undoubtedly traumatic robbery at gunpoint in Paris in early October. That, along with husband Kanye West's recent hospitalization and tour cancelation, has marked a rough patch for the family. The sweet snap indicates that they're recovering and even thriving — an encouraging mark of progress and healing for American celebrity royalty.

The typical tabloid focus on the family has intensified in the past few months, as the couple's fans have tried to decipher what's really going on behind the flashy — and concerning — headlines. West abruptly ended a concert Oct. 2, citing a family emergency, and the world soon learned that Kardashian had been bound, gagged, and threatened at gunpoint in the Paris apartment she was renting during Fashion Week, and that a group of assailants had fled with $10 million worth of jewelry. West, after delivering some bizarre rants at shows, was hospitalized for exhaustion and temporary psychosis in November, and Kardashian canceled her first scheduled public appearance accordingly. Then, rumors that they may soon divorce began.

So, it makes sense that both halves of this high-profile pair have used social media to communicate to the public that their family is as intact and loving as ever. Kardashian's first Instagram post since the robbery is captioned, simply, "family" and features a candid of the clan — including 3-year-old daughter North and son Saint, who is just 1 year old — decked out in white and looking as normal as one of the most famous families in the world can. Likewise, West tweeted a pic of the four of them posing (a bit more glamorously) before a Christmas tree Dec. 27, wishing his followers "Happy Holidays."

Kardashian's return to social media comes exactly three months after the robbery, after which she began seeing a therapist to address the resulting trauma. But the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star offered her fans another glimpse into her family life with a brief but touching montage of home video moments Monday, to tease her updated app experience, according to E! News. It's a heartfelt compilation of family moments, such as Kanye kissing his wife and daughter before taking the stage for a Los Angeles stop of his Saint Pablo tour.

And all of these public forays into life with Kardashian, West, and their kids serve as reminders that, despite the turbulence that has characterized their eternal position in the limelight lately, they're dedicated to strengthening the bonds that make them a family within the context of fame.