Finding friends in unexpected places. Kim Kardashian revealed she and Winnie Harlow met before their makeup collaboration because the KKW Beauty founder had questions about the symptoms she was experiencing that seemed to be tied to an autoimmune disease. The model has vitiligo, a skin condition where “patches of skin loses their color,” according to the Medical News Today. Trailers for season 17 of Keeping Up With the Kardashians show the soon-to-be lawyer struggling with a possible lupus diagnosis.
“I think we’ve seen each other for a while and there was something that I really needed advice on from Winnie about autoimmune issues I was having. I talk about that a lot on my show this season,” Kim, 38, reflected on how she got in contact with the America’s Next Top Model star, 25, during an interview with Jimmy Fallon on September 11. “I didn’t even know Winnie so I think I asked Kendall [Jenner] or someone for her number and I text [her] like, ‘Hey, this is Kim K. This is super weird that I’m reaching out to you but I wonder if you would be open to talking with me about some of your autoimmune issues because I’m suffering from them and have people close to me that are.’ And, I really wanted her opinion and advice.”
Luckily, Winnie was more than happy to talk it out with the reality starlet. “She was like, ‘Absolutely, call me,’ and we spoke. She gave me the best advice and I feel like we just bonded from there and started our relationship from that,” Kim explained. The runway maven also added, “We spoke for an hour!”
Clips from the upcoming season of KUWTK show Kris Jenner telling the mom-of-four that she “probably has lupus,” while Kim admitted that she “can feel it in my bones.” Although it hasn’t been confirmed that the brunette beauty has lupus — “a systemic autoimmune disease that occurs when your body’s immune system attacks your own tissues and organs,” according to the Mayo Clinic — it was definitely a very serious health scare.
Winnie has been very open about living with vitiligo. “My immune system is battling itself so it doesn’t hurt me personally but my skin cells are dying,” she explained in a YouTube video back when she was just 17. “The melanin, it dies. … We have nothing different about ourselves, it’s just our skin.”
We’re glad Kim could find support in a great new friend!