Kourtney Kardashian Says She’s ‘Battled’ With the Thought of Stepping Back From ‘KUWTK’
Kourtney Kardashian has been one of the stars of Keeping Up With the Kardashians since it premiered in 2007. Though the show made her a household name, the Poosh founder has struggled with living her life in the spotlight.
The constant attention and lack of privacy overwhelmed her to the point that Kardashian quit her family’s show to live life away from the public eye. But it turns out that she was fed up with fame long before stepping back from KUWTK.
Kourtney Kardashian announced she was taking a step back from ‘KUWTK’ in 2019
During season 17 of KUWTK, viewers watched as Kardashian struggled with the lack of boundaries.
The mother of three soon reached her breaking point when she and sisters, Kim Kardashian West and Khloé Kardashian, clashed over her involvement in the show.
After getting called out for not sharing more of her personal life with cameras, Kardashian decided that stepping back from her family’s show altogether might be for the best.
In November 2019, the Poosh founder revealed to Entertainment Tonight that she would be taking a step back from KUWTK to focus on her children and career ventures.
“I just decided to spend more time as a mom and put more of my energy there,” she explained to ET’s Keltie Knight before reassuring, “But I’m not saying goodbye.”
A year later, Kardashian explained to Vogue Arabia why she left the beloved series, sharing that it was “toxic” and that she wanted to channel her energy into things that brought her happiness.
“I have been filming the show non-stop for 14 years… I was feeling unfulfilled and it became a toxic environment for me to continue to have it occupy as much of my life as it was,” she told the magazine.
“Privacy is something I have come to value and finding that balance of private moments with being on a reality show is hard,” she continued. “People have this misconception that I don’t want to work, which isn’t true. I am following my happiness and putting my energy into that which makes me happy.”
Kourtney Kardashian was exhausted with fame years ago
After spending 14 years of her life on camera, Kardashian has grown tired of living her life in the public eye.
Though she’s continued to film episodes for her family’s show, the mother of three admits that there have been moments over the years that she’s considered walking away from fame.
“It’s hard because you’re in this situation in your life, and you have this platform,” she said while appearing on the latest episode of best friend Addison Rae’s podcast, That Was Fun with Addison & Sheri. “You’re living a public life, so where’s your privacy? I feel like every human being needs privacy to some degree.”
Though she’s filmed KUWTK while struggling with her public life, Kardashian says she’s thought about quitting the show on multiple occasions.
“For me, there became a moment where I felt like really wanting to pull back because it felt very toxic for me,” Kardashian confessed. “I felt like, ‘Oh my god, I don’t want to be famous anymore. I don’t know how I feel about this.”
It wasn’t until she became a mother that Kardashian began battling with whether she should continue living her life in the spotlight.
“With my kids, I’ve battled with that since Mason was born of ‘How do I protect my children?’ They used to get so anxious with the paparazzi,” she shared. “That’s not a normal thing for kids to have to go through. That’s been like a challenge.”
Kourtney Kardashian can finally live the life she wants
After 14 years on air, KUWTK will come to an end in the summer of 2021.
Though it’s bittersweet for fans and most of the Kardashian family, the Poosh founder felt it was time to move on. Now, she can live the life she’s always wanted, which is one away from the public eye.
“I always say I want to move away someday and just be away from it all,” she told Paper Magazine in 2019. “Sail away. No one will ever see me again. I keep throwing up different places, but then I’ll go there to visit and I’ll be like, ‘Nope, this isn’t it, but glad I came.’ We’ve just been to Finland. And I was like, ‘Check, it’s great for me to visit, but I’m not going to move there.’ Maybe Norway. Switzerland? I’ve got a lot of ideas.”
