Kim Kardashian has revealed she was left in tears after being compared with Britain's Duchess of Cambridge while she was pregnant.
The billionaire businesswoman was expecting her first child – daughter North – while Kate was set to welcome her first child, George in 2013.
Kardashian West (40) said she did not enjoy being pregnant and criticised the media’s treatment of her.
During an appearance on the We Are Supported By podcast with hosts Kristen Bell and Monica Padman, she recalled seeing news articles comparing her to a whale and said the media “brutalised” her, adding that magazines also compared her with Kate, now 39.
“It was really, really crazy,” she said. “They would always compare me to Kate Middleton so it would say ‘Kate the waif and Kim the whale, the waif versus the whale’.
“It was so nasty. I don’t think that would really fly today, but it killed my self-esteem. I really can’t believe that this was acceptable and that this was OK.
“But I would sit at home and cry all the time.”
Kardashian said she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia while pregnant, leading to swelling in her feet and face. She had her last two children by surrogate.
Elsewhere on the podcast, the US reality TV star credited estranged husband Kanye West with helping her not care what people think.
She filed for divorce from the superstar rapper and fashion designer in February.
They have been married for more than six years and have four children together.
Kim said: “I got to a point – and maybe being in a relationship with Kanye for a decade, someone that absolutely didn’t care about likeability 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.”
She said she realised she did not have to please people all the time, adding: “As long as I’m myself and as long as I’m doing it the way that I want to do, you have one life and you’re living it for you.
“That taught me to just be more confident in myself and truly not care as much of what other people thought.”
