REALITY TV NEWSKim Kardashian Admits 'DWTS' Stint 'Traumatized Her for Life': 'I Can’t Even Watch It'
Kim Kardashian said she cried in her trailer every night during her 2008 'DWTS' stint.
Oct. 17 2026, Published 12:33 p.m. ET
Kim Kardashian admitted that her experience on Dancing With the Stars left her traumatized, revealing that she struggled so much during the competition that she hoped to be eliminated.
"I would honestly cry in my trailer, like, every single night, praying to get kicked off. It was so hard for me," the reality star, 45, recalled during the Thursday, October 15, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Kardashian competed alongside professional dancer Mark Ballas during Season 7 of the ABC competition in 2008 but was eliminated after just three weeks.
Kim Says She Was 'So Shy' During Her 'DWTS' Stint
The star said her shyness made competing on 'Dancing With the Stars' difficult.
The SKIMS founder admitted that extreme shyness made performing in front of a live audience very difficult for her.
Kardashian said the experience had a lasting impact on her relationship with dancing.
"I've never danced again. I am traumatized," she declared. "It's traumatized me for life."
When host Jimmy Kimmel played a clip of Kardashian performing with Ballas, she immediately expressed her discomfort.
"I can't even watch it," she said.
Kylie Jenner Embarrassed Kim Kardashian With Old 'DWTS' Video
Kylie Jenner embarrassed Kim Kardashian by playing footage of her 'Dancing With the Stars' performances.
Kardashian revealed that the talk show appearance wasn't the first time she had been confronted with footage from her ballroom days.
"We had a family poker night three weeks ago, [and] Kylie decides to put it on the big movie screen because half the people there didn't know that I did it and she wanted to show everyone," she recalled.
The Kardashians star found some comfort. "Thank God it's so old that it's, like, pixelated. There's no HD version of it on YouTube," she quipped.
Looking back at her performance, Kardashian wished she had the "confidence" then that she does now.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
Kim Proposes an All-Kardashian-Jenner 'DWTS' Season
Kim Kardashian revealed her sisters support the idea of an all-Kardashian-Jenner 'Dancing With the Stars' season.
The family gathering also sparked a potential television concept, which Kardashian discussed with her sisters.
"I told my sisters … I was like, 'Could you imagine if we did a Kardashian-Jenner whole season of all of us competing against each other on Dancing With the Stars?'" she recalled.
Kardashian said her family loved the idea, though she wasn't sure if ABC would actually agree to it. Kimmel endorsed the family competition idea, confident that ABC would love it.
Kim Says She Would Return to 'Dancing With the Stars'
Kim Kardashian expressed interest in returning to 'Dancing With the Stars.'
Despite her earlier struggles, Kardashian appeared open to returning to the ballroom under the right circumstances.
"I don't know if they bring people back, but I'd do it," she said.
Brooke Burke and Derek Hough won Kardashian's original season.
