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A special In the Room episode is airing Monday, March 23 where Jason Kennedy sits down with Keeping Up With the Kardashians star Kourtney Kardashian to talk about her rumored departure from the show. Here’s what we know about why she’s taking a step back.
Kourtney Wants to Prioritize Her Children
In a sneak peek of her interview, Kourtney says that she’s always been so busy working that she hasn’t been as good of a mom as she could have been and it’s time to make a change.
“I feel like I have finally gotten to the place where I can balance being a mom and working,” says the oldest Kardashian daughter. “I’ve always done both, obviously, but it used to be where I would work a lot more and so I’ve really shifted my focus. My kids have always been my top priority, but I never had time with them after school to do their homework and go to their activities. They all really need one-on-one time with me, so making an effort to do something, it’s time-consuming. It’s like it’s my whole life.”
She also tells Kennedy that she’s been “feeling just really unhappy” doing the show lately, like she “was on a hamster wheel” and she feels like “something needed to change.”
In a recent interview with Health magazine, Kourtney emphasized that her change is about setting a more balanced schedule.
“I’ve been taking less time with filming and, in general, with work. My sisters don’t like when I say ‘setting boundaries,’ but it’s more about a schedule. I try to make myself available to my kids to really be a mom. And I want to be in charge of my time and schedule in order to do the things that are bringing me happiness,” said Kourtney.
But Kourtney Will Be a Part of Season 18
Kourtney’s desire to leave the show is actually a major season 18 plot point. In the trailer, she can be seen fighting with her sisters and in some pre-season interviews, they’ve all talked about how things get worse before they get better.
At the end of season 17, which aired back in December, Kim and Khloe both got on to Kourtney about not sharing enough of her life on the show because, without that, there’s no show.
“Our job is being open and honest and sharing a lot of ourselves and it just seems like, for the past few years now, Kourtney hasn’t really been open about her personal life on camera,” Kim said in a private interview during season 17. “So all of the days that Kourtney isn’t filming, Khloe and I are picking up the slack and having to share more. Because if we’re not sharing our lives, then what is the show?”
Now on season 18, Kendall Jenner teased for Ellen DeGeneres that Kourtney is not fully quitting but she’s setting some “boundaries” and that’s hard for everyone to adjust to.
“[W]ith Kourtney, she did at one point let her personal life be on the show, and so now it’s more of a shift, I guess, for everyone to understand,” said Kendall. “But no, I don’t think she’s fully confirmed to not be on the show? Let’s just say it gets a little bit crazier before it gets any better. And it’s just… there’s some pretty crazy things that happen.”
Keeping Up With the Kardashians season 18 premieres Thursday, March 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on E!.
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