What really went down when Kim Kardashian fired her former assistant and longtime best friend? Stephanie Shepherd finally shared the full story behind parted ways professionally!
For those who don’t know, Steph Shep worked for the 43-year-old reality star for four years… until she was fired in 2017. One may think her relationship with her friend and former boss would have soured after getting fired. There were certainly plenty of rumors of a rift between them at the time! However, they did not part on bad terms! Stephanie and Kim have become closer than ever since they stopped working together!
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But why would the SKIMS creator fire her pal in the first place? It turns out they both recognized after four years of working together it was simply time for Stephanie to move on. The Future Earth co-founder explained on The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Podcast:
“Well, I got fired. It was such a huge deal at the time. I mean, fired in the nicest sense of the word. I was crying, she was crying, because we are friends. And honestly, that friendship is really important to both of us.”
Although Stephanie was close to Kim, she realized at the time she needed a change in her life:
“It was kind of, I think this theme in my life, where I’ve kind of just inherently felt like, ‘Oh, it’s time to move on here. I don’t know if I have anything more that I can contribute to this.’ And I think she probably felt that and saw that. She was like, ‘You need something more. You have this thing, pursue that. I’ll support you, whatever you need.’”
In fact, Stephanie recalled it being “the most beautiful uncoupling” she’s ever experienced. And since the two went their separate ways, their bond has grown even stronger:
“Never been closer, and she still is someone I go to for personal and professional advice all the time.”
Part of the reason Steph even felt ready to move on to her own business ventures is because of what she learned from Kim over the years. Working for Kim was like earning a master’s degree, as the former assistant put it! Praising the empire the reality star built, she said:
“It’s a machine and it’s meticulous. I always say it’s like my graduate school because I learned everything that I know about sending an email to an agent or speaking to a manager, or booking glam, or finding a photographer, or doing product development, or dealing with a public. Every single step of everything that you have to know about being an entrepreneur in the entertainment business, I learned from working under Kim.”
It’s great to see Steph remain such good friends with Kim — even after getting fired! You can watch the interview (below):
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[Image via Hulu/The Skinny Confidential/YouTube]
