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Kim Kardashian and Assistant Stephanie Shepherd Are ‘Still Friendly’ After Ending Their Working Relationship (Exclusive)

Kim Kardashian and Stephanie Sheppard celebrate The Launch Of KKW Beauty on June 20, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
Kim Kardashian and Stephanie Sheppard celebrate The Launch Of KKW Beauty on June 20, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images

Kim Kardashian and her former assistant, Stephanie Shepherd, are still close after ending their four-year working relationship, multiple sources are exclusively telling Us Weekly.

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As Us exclusively revealed on Friday, November 17, the reality star, 37, and Shepherd decided that working together was no longer in their best interests. According to one insider, the media mogul let Shepherd go after she was profiled by Refinery29 in May. “Stephanie started thinking she was a celebrity herself, and Kim didn’t like that. Everything started going downhill after the Refinery29 article came out,” a source told Us. “Things aren’t how like they used to be. Stephanie does still hang out with the family and Kim and her are cordial when they see each other, but it’s different.”

Another insider countered that Kim does not think Shepherd is after notoriety. “Kim and Steph are still friendly and still speaking. Kim wouldn’t say that Steph thinks of herself as a celebrity,” the source said. “Kim respects Steph and wants her to do well.”

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Shepherd previously lived with the KKW Beauty founder and supported her after she was robbed at gunpoint in Paris in October 2016. “The Refinery29 article was not good, but at the end, they were close friends and they will remain in each other’s lives,” the source said, noting that the media mogul wanted a more formal relationship with her next assistant. “Kim needed an assistant where the relationship was more professional and structured — it’s hard to work with close friends — so she decided to hire someone else.” The source confirmed that Kim has hired Tracy Nguyen to handle her brand and business operations.

As previously reported, although Shepherd and the Selfish author “agreed their working relationship was no longer working,” Shepherd is still very much involved in the E! star’s life. “Steph is still a part of Kim and her family’s life — she went to Kim’s birthday dinner and Kendall’s birthday party,” a source told Us. “There isn’t bad blood there. They still hang out and are friends, but they have gone their separate ways and are not working together anymore.”

Related: Kardashian Family Reality Check: Which Headlines Are Real?

Aside from the Refinery29 article, “other stuff happened on top of that that left a bad taste in Kim’s mouth,” the source added.

Kim voiced her concerns about Shepherd during a conversation with sister Kourtney Kardashian on the October 29 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

When the KKW Fragrance founder admitted that she found Kourtney’s friendship with Shepherd to be “unprofessional,” Kourtney warned her sister that Shepherd may feel “unfulfilled, job-wise.”

“I do think it’s, like, inappropriate for her to talk to you and not to me,” a shocked Kim told Kourtney, later adding in her confessional, “I mean, don’t you think that’s just, like, a little bit unprofessional? That’s like a convo she should have with me.”

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