Kim Kardashian has no regrets when it comes to the intense weight-loss plan she followed to fit into Marilyn Monroe‘s iconic “Happy Birthday” dress for the 2022 Met Gala.
In an interview with Today, which aired on Tuesday, June 21, the Skims founder, 41, revealed to hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie that she’s “continued to eat really healthy,” and is even “down 21 pounds.” While Kardashian asserted that she’s not trying to lose “any more weight,” she said the transformation has been an eye-opening experience for her.
“It taught me a lot about my lifestyle and my health,” she continued. “Since then, afterward, I continued to eat really healthy. I’m down 21 pounds now. I’m not trying to lose any more weight, but I have more energy than ever. I cut out so much sugar, a lot of junk food I was eating … I just completely changed my lifestyle.”
When asked about the backlash she received after revealing she lost 16 pounds to be able to wear the historic Bob Mackie design, Kardashian said, “I looked at it like a role, and I really wanted to wear this dress. It was really important to me.”
The Selfish author previously spoke about her fitness journey, explaining in a May 2 interview with Vogue that she “would wear a sauna suit twice a day” and “run on the treadmill.” As for her meals, Kardashian “cut out all sugar and all carbs” and only ate the “cleanest veggies and protein.” The beauty mogul added: “I didn’t starve myself, but I was strict.”
It was also during her Today interview that Kardashian broke her silence on allegations that she damaged the iconic gown after wearing it at fashion’s biggest night on May 2. “It was such a process. I showed up to the red carpet in a robe and slippers and I put the dress on at the bottom of the carpet, went up the stairs … I probably had it on for three minutes, four minutes, and then I changed at the top of the stairs,” Kardashian explained.
She continued: “Ripley’s [and I] worked together so well. There were handlers and gloves that put it on me.”
Kardashian’s interview comes after collector Scott Fornter alleged that the dress, which the late actress wore to serenade then-President John F. Kennedy in 1962, was badly damaged after being loaned to the Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum. In photos Fortner claimed were taken on June 12, the dress appeared to have rips in the sleeve, sustained tears at the zipper and was missing several crystals. The fashion historian also shared images taken of the dress ahead of Kardashian’s Met Gala appearance that showed the look with no blemishes.
In a statement released on June 16, Ripley’s addressed the controversy, saying: “Kim Kardashian wearing the ‘Happy Birthday’ dress has been hotly contested, but the fact remains that she did not, in any way, damage the garment in the short amount of time it was worn at the Met Gala.”
Ripley’s Vice President of Publishing and Licensing, Amanda Joiner, added in the memo: “From the bottom of the Met steps, where Kim got into the dress, to the top where it was returned, the dress was in the same condition it started in.” The archival center went on to assert that Joiner was with the dress throughout the day of the Met Gala on May 2 and remained with the garment when it was transported from Orlando to New York for the big event.
