Kim Kardashian Said Her Relationship With Kanye West Earned Her "a Different Level of Respect"

While Kim Kardashian would likely be the first to admit that her relationship with ex-husband Kanye West has been anything but smooth sailing, the SKIMS founder recently opened up about how her connection to the rapper completely elevated her career.

While talking to Interview editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg for the magazine's September cover story, Kardashian explained that she finally felt she'd arrived in "high society" once she began dating West in 2012.

"I mean, when I was with Kanye, and he was introducing me to a lot of people," Kardashian, who tied the knot with West in 2014 before filing for divorce in 2021, explained. "I think that definitely got a lot of people to have a different level of respect."

The A-lister then added that she believes a continual evolution into her truest form also contributed to her rising stardom. "I've also seen a s--- more recently — going to law school, just doing what I want and becoming my own person and people seeing that and respecting that," Kim explained. "There's levels to it."

Of course, Kardashian also partook in a racy photoshoot to accompany the interview, where she called on her famous Paper magazine cover from 2014 for a little bit of inspo. On the cover, which was aptly dubbed the American Dream issue, Kim posed in front of an American flag while wearing a denim jacket and matching blue jeans that were pulled down to reveal a white jockstrap. Possibly even more jarring than her outfit, Kardashian styled her platinum blonde hair in a wolf cut and bleached her famously dark brows to match.