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They're not as transparent as they seem.
By Alice Kelly — Last updated on Mar 03, 2023
Thanks to their hugely popular reality TV shows and their hundreds of millions of combined social media followers, the Kardashians have very few secrets.
Or at least that’s what you would assume.
The famous family are no strangers to sharing even the most personal details about their lives but that doesn’t mean they haven’t tried to keep some of their more controversial moments out of the public eye.
In fact, rumor has it that Kourtney, Kim and Khloé Kardashian along with their mother, Kris Jenner, and sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner have gone to great lengths to keep some things to themselves.
Every now and then fans get a sneak peek into something that the sisters tried to keep out of the public eye and it reminds them that, as transparent as they seem, the Kardashians are experts in image control.
Here are 12 secrets the Kardashians tried to keep hidden — allegedly.
1. Kim Kardashian was investigated by the FBI after getting $250K in a trash bag.
According to a March 2023 Bloomberg Businessweek report, Kim was questioned by the feds as part of an investigation into Malaysian financier Jho Low, a mogul at the center of the infamous 1MDB fund embezzlement scandal.
In 2019, Kim told the FBI that she once played baccarat in a Las Vegas casino with Low and others when she ended up winning big.
Low allegedly told Kim to keep the chips she won, which were worth $350,000. Kim told the FBI that when she went to the casino counter to cash out, she was handed $250,000 in “a trash bag full of one hundred dollar bills.”
“Kardashian put the trash bag full of cash in her carry-on bag and boarded a Southwest Airlines flight back to Los Angeles,” FBI agents wrote, according to Bloomberg.
On a later trip to Vegas, Kim collected the remaining $100,000, again in a trash bag full of cash.
2. Kris Jenner allegedly mistreated staff on her canceled talk show.
In 2013, the matriarch of the Kardashian family launched her very own talk show on Fox titled “Kris” for a six-week trial that was, ultimately, a failed venture.
The show struggled to bring in viewers and was never picked up for a full season. A Fox executive would later describe Jenner’s performance on the show as “pretty uninteresting.”
But one of the lesser known details about the failed show is that it’s host was reportedly a nightmare to work with.
“Working with Kris was absolutely unbearable,” an anonymous crew member later claimed.
“She would show up on set hung over and demand her beauty team to fix her up and make her look stunning.”
Jenner allegedly tried to keep the rumors hidden but eventually tweeted to say that “rumors flying are false.”
3. Kim and Kanye only agreed to share first photos of North on Kris Jenner’s show to save her ratings.
Shortly before Jenner’s talk show was first aired, Kim and Kanye West welcomed their much-talked-about firstborn North who they managed to keep hidden from the media for several weeks.
However, the couple were reportedly encouraged to reveal photos of their newborn in order to rescue ratings on North’s grandmother’s show.
Kim and Kanye were reportedly offered up to $2 million from other outlets for the first photos but wound up debuting their daughter on the season finale Jenner’s show.
“The ratings were averaging an abysmal 0.8 and advertisers were less than enthusiastic about it,” said a source close to the show.
“Kris did get a ratings bump for her last show when Kanye West revealed the first baby pic of daughter, North West, with Kim, but that was a one time shot in the arm.”
4. Khloé Kardashian had private investigators uncover Lamar Odom’s drug addiction and cheating — but hid it from the show.
Throughout 2013, countless stories circulated about Lamar Odom cheating on then-wife Khloé Kardashian, much to the dismay of fans who had watched the couple’s seemingly happy relationship unfold on TV.
Odom would later admit to struggling with a drug addiction and infidelity from early on in his marriage to Khloé.
"There were too many strippers to count," the troubled basketball star admitted in his memoir. "It wasn’t a big deal, but often I would pay them. I never thought less of them."
However, Khloé allegedly knew of the infidelity for a year before it was made public and even hired a private investigator to track her husband.
While still putting up a united front on “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” and their own show “Khloé & Lamar,” the third Kardashian child was quietly mistrustful of Odom.
"Khloé has not only photographic proof that Lamar cheated on her with at least five different women, but has copies of text messages between Lamar and the other women," an insider claimed in 2013.
"She is a very smart woman and knew she had to get the proof because of the infidelity clause in their prenup."
Though Khloé would later discuss Odom’s infidelity on TV, she didn’t do so until his cheating was widely public.
5. Kim and Khloé Kardashian have allegedly been quietly removing their butt implants.
The Kardashian’s bodies are often a subject of debate due to the family’s consistent denial of having had certain cosmetic surgeries or enhancements.
Often accused of promoting unrealistic beauty standards, the sisters have always defended themselves and claimed their bodies are the result of their intense workout routines.
However, this doesn’t add up for some fans who believe the sisters, particularly Kim and Khloé, have not only had Brazilian butt lifts, or a similar procedure, but they are now having those procedures reversed.
Of course, this could be due to weight loss or other factors and it is not really our place to speculate on women’s bodies but fans have suggested the sisters ought to be more transparent to their impressionable fanbase.
6. Kendall Jenner allegedly hooked up with Justin Bieber — who later married her best friend.
While Kendall keeps her love life largely off her family's show, she hasn't been able to keep everything private.
Kendall's longtime bestie Hailey Bieber occasionally makes an appearance on the show and their friendship is well-documented. But one thing kept off camera is rumors that Kendall hooked up with Hailey's now-husband back between 2014 and 2015.
Justin appeared to confirm rumors that he and Kendall briefly dated back in 2015 when he said it "was never serious."
Kendall and Hailey may have even secretly joked about it during a YouTube video together in which they both laughed out loud when asked if they had kissed the same person.
7. Amber Rose called Kim Kardashian a ‘homewrecker’ who pursued Kanye West while they were both dating other people.
Before Kim and Kanye became Kimye in 2012, the pair were pretty seriously romantically involved with other people.
The rapper was dating model Amber Rose until 2010, while Kim was dating NFL star Reggie Bush before briefly marrying Kris Humphries in 2011.
However, Rose claims that Kim had been secretly in contact with her then-boyfriend and sent him photos while still linked to Bush.
Her claims came after Rose was linked to Bush and accused of splitting him from Kim.
"Kim is the home wrecker, I'm not the home wrecker. I don't date men in relationships,” Rose said in 2012.
On her E! reality show, the “Skims” founder carefully crafted a narrative that suggested she and West had been just friends until they both found themselves single in 2012.
However, Rose disagrees with this version of events.
"I feel like Kim and her family, they manipulate the media and they want people to believe what they want them to believe," she said.
"I just had to put the truth out there and I had to get it off my chest."
8. Kris Jenner allegedly paid off an ex-boyfriend who claimed she cheated on Caitlyn Jenner.
In her 2013 memoir, “Kris Jenner… And All Things Kardashian,” the famous momager revealed that she had an affair while married to the father of her first four children, Robert Kardashian Sr.
However, it has been alleged that Jenner did not disclose the true extent of her infidelity and even paid off her ex to keep him quiet.
Though not named in the book, the man Jenner dated was later identified as Todd Waterman who claims the affair extended into Jenner’s relationship with her second husband, Caitlyn Jenner – then known as Bruce.
“We were still sleeping together when she started dating Bruce,” Waterman alleged in 2014.
Waterman even appeared on an episode of “KUWTK” but this was, reportedly, a way to make him contractually obliged to stop speaking about the affair.
Waterman was allegedly paid between $15,000 and $20,000 to appear on the show.
“He appeared under the pretense that they were having closure on their relationship. Little did everyone — least of all Bruce — know that she was gagging him,” a source claimed.
9. Robert Kardashian Sr.’s wife accused Kris Jenner of abusing her children.
In 2013, Robert Kardashian’s widow released excerpts from what she claims is a journal belonging to the Kardashian’s father.
In it are several lines accusing Jenner of abusing her children, claims both Jenner and her children have denied.
“Kris was kicking and beating her and said she was going to kill [Kim]!” Robert allegedly wrote in his entry on Aug. 24, 1989. “Kim was hysterical.”
When asked about the allegations, a Kardashian family rep said, “We have no knowledge of these diaries existing and these accusations are ridiculous and not true.”
10. Kris Humphries claims ‘KUWTK’ is staged — including Kim Kardashian’s famous missing earring scene.
After their 72-day marriage ended in disaster, Humphries has made no secret of his disdain for his ex-wife’s family and their show.
The basketball star featured on the show throughout the couple’s year-long relationship but sources close to him claim that he has since insisted the reality show is staged.
"Kris says that Kim's reality shows are a total sham. He doesn't think there is anything real about the shows at all,” a source alleged.
The source also references one of the most-quoted scenes of the show in which Kim loses an earring after being thrown into the ocean by Humphries during a family trip.
"Kim was crying hysterically, but then miraculously, one of her younger sisters found the earring in the ocean, where the group had been swimming.”
11. The Kardashians have been accused of using sweatshops to create their products.
In 2011, the Kardashians found themselves caught up in a sweatshop investigation after it was alleged that several Kardashian-branded and endorsed products were made in appalling conditions in foreign factories.
“They take this situation very seriously and have been assured by all of their manufacturers that the factories are policed regularly,” the Kardashians’ rep said at the time.
“That said, we are continuing to investigate the matter and if there is any evidence of an illegal operation then they will cease work with that manufacturer immediately.”
The brands included K-Dash by Kardashian label, the Kris Jenner Kollection and ShoeDazzle, which was endorsed by Kim.
12. Kylie Jenner previously lied about getting lip fillers.
Before Kylie founded her billion-dollar company, Kylie Cosmetics, and launched her famous lip kits, the youngest of the family had tried to downplay her cosmetic procedures.
In 2015, buzz surrounding the makeup mogul’s lips began after fans noticed them slowly enlarging over the course of a year.
Kylie spent months repeatedly denying or evading questions about her lips before eventually admitting to the procedure on an episode of “KUWTK.”
Since then, she has capitalized on the controversy with her makeup brand in a way that only a Kardashian-Jenner could pull off.
13. Kim Kardashian was accused of wage theft by staff in her home.
In May 2021, Kim was sued by seven workers accusing her of wage theft, retaliation and more. The complaint alleged that cleaning and maintenance workers at her Santa Monica home weren’t paid for all the hours they worked, didn’t get overtime pay, weren’t given required meal and rest breaks and didn’t get any pay stubs or documents related to employment.
Kim has largely tried to deflect blame by saying this was the fault of a company she hired to manage the workers.
These workers were hired and paid through a third-party vendor,” her spokesperson said.
“Kim is not party to the agreement made between the vendor and their workers, therefore she is not responsible for how the vendor manages their business.”
The case, which is ongoing, has been pushed under the rug by the family who never addressed the scandal themselves.
14. Kris Jenner’s security guard accused her of groping him without his consent.
A security guard accused the mom-of-six of sexual harassment and of groping his crotch when he was still working for the family in 2017.
In a lawsuit that the family reportedly tried to keep under wraps, Marc McWilliams claims Jenner groped him while the pair were driving together in her Bently.
However, Jenner and her legal team reportedly opted to make a secret deal with the security guard in order to prevent the case from going any further.
McWilliams agreed to take his case to private arbitration meaning any deal worked out will remain unknown.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.