Kim Kardashian Cuts Ties With Longtime Assistant Stephanie Shepherd
Kim Kardashian has fired her longtime assistant Stephanie Shepherd.
After four years of working with Shepherd, the reality star decided to part ways with her former assistant and close pal. A source revealed that Kardashian plans on keeping a more professional relationship with Shepherd's replacement.
"Steph was very friendly with Kim's family — she was almost part of the family," the insider told PEOPLE about Shepherd, who started as Kardashian's assistant in 2013.
The insider added, "Kim needed an assistant where the relationship is more professional. It's very difficult to work with friends, so Kim decided to hire someone else. The bottom line is that Steph was hired as an assistant, and Kim wanted to keep it like that. They are not friends now."
Reports note that there has been a strain in the duo's professional for quite a long time. It was even documented on the Oct. 29 episode of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" in which Kardashian opened up about Shepherd's friendship with her sister Kourtney, calling it "unprofessional."
Kardashian was referring to an incident when Shepherd talked to Kourtney about being "unfulfilled, job-wise." The "Selfish" author felt offended by Shepherd's actions, insisting the assistant should have talked to her about job-related issues.
According to a different source, the relationship between Shepherd and Kardashian never recovered since the former's interview with Refinery29. The day-in-the-life piece revealed intimate details about Kardashian and her husband Kanye West's life.
Shepherd mentioned that she "did all [Kardashian's] laundry" and even discussed the Paris gunpoint robbery Kardashian went through last year. She also claimed that the makeup mogul bought pepper spray after the traumatic encounter.
Since being an executive assistant of Kardashian, Shepherd's role grew and later became the manager of Kim Kardashian-branded products. These included Kardashian's emoji collection, as well as other kinds of merchandise associated to her.