Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum Kourtney Kardashian has spoken out about the "toxic environment" behind the scenes of the hit reality TV show, claiming she was almost playing a caricature of herself towards the end of the series.
Speaking to Bustle this week, the media personality, 42, candidly discussed how the show put a strain on her relationships with her sisters, forcing the mum-of-three to adopt a "character" in the later series.
"Shooting our show, it became a really toxic environment at the end for me," she told Bustle.
"I would fight with my sisters. There was, like, just a lot going on. And even for me personally, I wasn't in the happiest place. I felt like I was being almost a character [sic]. 'This is Kourtney, and she's in a bad mood, so even though she was laughing really at lunch, we're going to cut out the laughing and let's only use the annoying comment that she said'... I was used to always being a bitch and having no feelings."
After the 20-season run concluded on June 20, 2021 after 14 years, Kardashian said she began her journey with therapy, which she believes has made her a kinder person.
"Normally I'd have a really good comeback, like, 'Well, you're covered in cellulite'. But then I would be like, 'I have nothing mean to say. I'm not a bitch anymore'.
"I just have feelings, like, an abundance of them."
Speaking to the magazine, 'momager' and the matriarch of the Kardashian clan, Kris Jenner, admitted the family were "probably all a little too hard" on the eldest of the KarJenner daughters.
"I think that Kourtney's really found that balance that she has craved for so long. And she's been happy. You can see it on her face," the 66-year-old grandmother-of-11 said.
Kardashian, who is half Armenian on her late father's side, told Bustle that the year-long break between the end of the show and a new, upcoming spinoff, The Kardashians, had given her and her famous family time to reset. The latest spinoff is set to premiere on Hulu and Disney+ on April 14.
"Having the break shifted the mindset with my sisters. When you're doing that [show] every single day, you don't have the space to take a break and be like, 'Wait, we actually love each other'," she noted.
Kardashian is currently planning her wedding to her neighbour-turned-fiancé, Grammy-winning Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, following a year-long romance. The couple became engaged in October 2021.
The socialite and social media star has three children - son Mason, 12, daughter Penelope, nine, and son Reign, seven - from her nine-year, on-and-off romance with businessman and media personality Scott Disick. The couple eventually called it quits in 2015.
