Kim Kardashian Says Kanye West Helped Her "Be Herself First"

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West only divorced in February 2021 (opens in new tab), but already Kardashian has a fresh and positive perspective on what West added to her life. The star recently appeared on the We Are Supported By (opens in new tab) podcast hosted by Kristen Bell and Monica Padman, and credited her ex-husband with helping her find the confidence in herself that she had lacked at various stages of her life.

"I got to a point—and maybe being in a relationship with Kanye for, you know, a decade, someone that absolutely didn't care about likability factor or what any perception of him was, as long as he was true to himself—that taught me so much in the best way, of just being me and living in the moment, and you don't have to please everyone," Kardashian said. "As long as I'm myself, and as long as I'm doing it the way that I want to do, like you have one life and you're living it for you—that taught me to just, I think, be more confident in myself, and truly not care as much of what other people thought."

Some people might be surprised to hear that Kardashian has struggled with insecurity, especially when considering her unapologetic social media presence, but she said that reconciling herself with her sense of vanity was part of the process too. "I'm particularly a person who's probably more vain than the average person, probably why I love to curate my Instagram, and love to take so many photos, but I became comfortable in that as well," she said. "Like, that's me, and that's what I wanna post, and this is I wanna do—more so for myself, not really for an image of, 'oh my God, let me see who's commenting, let me see who's liking it.' I got to a place where I really didn't care."

"I used to be such a people pleaser," Kardashian admitted. "Being myself, I think was something that I learned over time." You love to see it.