Kim Kardashian‘s dramatic weight loss didn’t stop after she slipped out of that Marilyn Monroe dress.
The Kardashians star stopped by the Today show on Tuesday where she opened up about losing 16 lbs. within three weeks in order to wear Monroe’s iconic “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress to the Met Gala this year.
“I looked at it like a role and I really wanted to wear this dress,” the mother of four told Today co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. “It was really important to me.”
But she’s maintained the weight loss since the May event, and even lost more pounds.
“Since then, afterwards, I continued to eat really healthy,” Kardashian, 41, said. “I’m down 21 lbs. 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 didn’t realize, like a lot of fried foods. And I just completely changed my lifestyle.”
“It actually taught me a lot about my lifestyle and my health,” she said.
RELATED: Kim Kardashian Defends Losing 16 Lbs. in Order to Wear Marilyn Monroe’s Dress to 2022 Met Gala
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Kardashian had come under fire for losing so much weight in such a short amount of time, but told The New York Times earlier this month that she wasn’t expecting fans to follow in her footsteps.
“I wasn’t saying, ‘Hey everyone, why don’t you go lose this weight in a short period of time?'” Kardashian said. “To me it was like, ‘OK, Christian Bale can do it for a movie role and that is acceptable.’ Even Renée Zellweger gained weight for a role. It’s all the same to me.”
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Since wearing the Monroe dress, the reality star also received criticism from fans who alleged she damaged the historic Jean Louis gown.
Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, the owner of the garment, has denied any damages to the dress were made by Kardashian. “The dress was in the same condition it started in,” Ripley’s VP of Publishing and Licensing Amanda Joiner — who was with the dress during its journey from Orlando to New York as well as throughout the day of the Met Gala — said in a statement earlier this month.
RELATED: Ripley’s Denies That Kim Kardashian Caused Damage to Marilyn Monroe’s Dress at the Met Gala
Kim Kardashian
On Today, Kardashian also denied harming the dress in any way. “Ripley’s, we worked together so well,” she said of the experience. “There were handlers with gloves who put it on me.”
“It was such a process,” she recalled. “I showed up to the red carpet in a robe and slippers and I put the dress on on the bottom of the carpet. I went up the stairs — I probably had it on for 3 minutes, 4 minutes. And then I changed [into a replica of the gown] right at the top of the stairs.”
She went on to say that she was happy wearing the gown helped expose a whole new generation of fans to Monroe, who died in 1962.
“I was so happy to have that opportunity and that Ripley’s gave me the opportunity to share this moment so that it could live on,” she said. “I respect her, I understand how much this dress means to American history, and the theme being American I thought, ‘What is more American than Marlyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to the President of the United States?’ “
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Kardashian was on Today to promote her new 9-step skincare line.
“At my age, there’s a lot that goes into making sure my skin is well taken care of and I wanted to share exactly what I use,” the reality star said on the NBC morning show.
“I think you get to a place where you’re at peace with aging, and I’m totally there, but I will do everything I can to make sure I look and feel my best,” she added.
