Just everything you need to know about Kim Kardashian's rumoured nemesis, Steph Shepherd.

Celebrity feud.

Are there any two words in the English dictionary more exciting when paired together?

Well, probably, if you have a life.

I, for one, am rubbing my hands together with glee at the latest development of a celebrity feud involving the Kardashians.

Technically, it involves Kim shutting down a rumour she’s been feuding with her former assistant, Stephanie Shepherd, which we all know means they definitely were. Or still are…

How are we so certain a feud did indeed exist? Cold hard facts, that’s how. Read on, fellow feud lovers, for enlightenment is but a couple hundred words away.

Who is Stephanie Shepherd?

Only one of the Kardashians most high-profile former assistants – with 900,000-odd Instagram followers and her own assistant to boot.

Years before Steph met Kim, she was a cheerleader for basketball team the Cleveland Cavaliers. When she moved to LA to pursue her dancing career, she worked as an assistant for Real Housewives of Beverley Hills star, Erika Girardi, as you do, which is how she met Robin Antin from The Pussycat Dolls, who later introduced her to Kim. Friends in high places, eh?

She was hired by Kim in 2013 just before the birth of her first child, North West.

Steph became an honorary Kardashian, growing close to the whole family and regularly featuring in the plotlines of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. In 2017, she was promoted to Chief Operations Officer of Kardashian West Brands, managing all of Kim’s business ventures outside the show.

In an interview with Refinery 29 around the time she was promoted last year, Steph detailed the inner workings of the 'Kardashian Konglomerate' - including when Kim was robbed at gunpoint in Paris in 2016 and she was one of the first people by her side, escorting her to a private plane and flying her home to safety.

“It was terrifying. At the time, I had to hold it together and make sure everything was getting handled, and that we could get Kim home as quickly and safely as possible," she told the publication.

"Obviously I can’t even begin to imagine what she’s gone through, what she’s had to deal with, but even I have been more cautious. We have alarms and security plans, and all that. Still, whenever I’ve had to stay home alone, I get a little scared. So I did get a couple of extra pepper sprays.”

At the time, she said she and Kim were so close, they texted from the “the second [they] wake up until [they] go to bed”. In fact, she said she didn’t think it was “possible for any person to talk to anyone more than [she] talk[s] to Kim”.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

????☁️ #revolvearoundtheworld

A post shared by STEPHANIE ANN SHEPHERD (@steph_shep) on Jul 2, 2018 at 9:57am PDT

But, in November last year, she suddenly stopped working as Kim's assistant AND walked out on her COO position. We were shook.

So why did she stop working with Kim?

WELL.

In an episode of KUWTK, Kim revealed in a phone call to a friend that while Steph had chosen to focus solely on her new position, saying she had "outgrown" her assistant job, the new role had proved too overwhelming and she made an executive decision to let her go.

"She handled it really well, she knew that she needed this time, she knew it wasn't working," Kim said at the time.

BUT, after the episode aired, anonymous sources told Us Weekly, People, and other news outlets, that the real reason was because their friendship had become strained, and that she and Kim weren't speaking.

The plot thickens...

What's the rumoured feud about?

In an earlier episode of KUWTK, about a month before Steph moved on, Kourtney and Kim got into a fight over Kourtney’s “unprofessional” friendship with Steph.

Kim felt it was inappropriate that Steph had spoken with Kourtney about being unhappy in her assistant job, and how she wanted more responsibility. Which is fair enough.

 

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I’ll be at the opening of @thesugarfactory @hardrockhcac next Saturday, July 28 ???????? *Kim NOT included.

A post shared by Kourtney Kardashian (@kourtneykardash) on Jul 20, 2018 at 11:02am PDT

Some sources, however, said there was more to it than that. Apparently, Kim felt as though Steph was starting to think of herself as a celebrity - which she didn't like one bit.

Steph had her own public profile, her own massive following, a foot in the fashion world, and she was dating Apple Music's head of content, Larry Jackson.

 

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A belated thanks @vanityfair! Sunday was fun. A lot of fun. Much more fun than my dour expression exudes. ????????‍♂️???? #winterformal2018

A post shared by Larry Jackson (@thelarryjackson) on Mar 9, 2018 at 6:32pm PST

Kim wasn't a fan of where this was all going, so she showed her the door.

"Stephanie started thinking she was a celebrity herself, and Kim didn’t like that. Everything started going downhill after the Refinery29 article came out ... Things aren’t how like they used to be," the source said at the time.

What's Kim saying?

Over the weekend, it was reported the former colleagues had finally buried the hatchet as Kim attended Stephanie's birthday party - where she got a group together to pack 500 lunches for a homeless shelter in Los Angeles.

But, instead of ignoring the reports altogether, Kim took to Twitter in a desperate attempt to stamp out rumours there was ever a feud. Why? Obviously because there most definitely was and might still be.

Please stop with this fake narrative. She was NEVER my nemesis. We simply stopped working together but we have always remained super close friends. https://t.co/dJeXRQbeFL

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) September 16, 2018

Where there's smoke, Kim.

What's Stephanie doing now?

According to her Instagram, she's been designing jeans for Jbrand and just generally being glamorous all around the world.

 

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remixed the #littleblackjean —> coming to a STORE near you in November! ???????????????????????? @jbrandjeans

A post shared by STEPHANIE ANN SHEPHERD (@steph_shep) on Sep 7, 2018 at 9:40am PDT

She still appears to be very close with Kourtney, too. Hmm.