Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian Barker’s ongoing feud on “The Kardashians” stems from unresolved issues surrounding Kim’s collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana shortly after Kourtney’s wedding to Travis Barker.

The intense nature of sisterly fights, like the one between Kim and Kourtney, can be attributed to deeper 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood wounds and the complex dynamics of sibling relationships.

Despite the heated arguments, sisters like Kim and Kourtney can quickly reconcile due to the strong interdependence and forgiveness inherent in family relationships.

Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian Barker say they’ve resolved their fight.

“I think there’s like this huge misconception that Kourtney and I hate each other. We really don’t,” Kim said on Season Five, Episode Two of “The Kardashians.”

“We’re sisters. I think people forget,” Kourtney said. “I’m sure a lot of people have had crazy fights with their siblings. Maybe ours are more extreme? I’m not sure. I really don’t know.”

The sisters fought throughout the show’s third and fourth season, starting with Kourtney calling out Kim for working with Dolce & Gabbana shortly after she worked with the fashion house for her 2022 wedding to Travis Barker, and seeming to conclude with that phone call.

Although Kourtney and Kim’s feud looked like their most explosive one yet, Kim said that she’ll always be there for her big sis “no matter how crazy” things get between them.

“If she needs something I’m there. If I need something, she’s there and we’ll always be that way no matter what we’re going through,” she said.

Kourtney echoed the same sentiment.

“Kim and I are great,” she said. “Everything’s back to normal. We get along. We really connect over the kids. I can’t even believe that a second of energy was wasted on that (feud).”

When did Kim and Kourtney’s fight begin?

The sisters started fighting on Season Three of “The Kardahians,” and continued all through Season Four.

The trouble began when Kim decided to work with Dolce & Gabbana on a ’90s-inspired collection just months after Kourtney worked with the brand on her wedding to Travis Barker.

After the two temporarily resolved their conflict, it erupted again in the lead-up to Season Four, when each heard what the other had said to the cameras. The Season Four premiere began with an explosive phone call in which each expressed their grievances with the other.

Kourtney felt Kim capitalized off her wedding’s aesthetic for her gain, and that Kim wasn’t “happy for her” on the wedding day itself. Kim said Kourtney had changed into a “different person.” It ended with Kourtney calling Kim a “witch” and a “narcissist.”

Kourtney, in Season Five, revealed she didn’t know the phone call was filmed while speaking to her friend Simon Huck.

“Did she not tell you when she called?” Simon asked Kourtney.

Kourt replied, “No! I just had a feeling that it was filmed after the fact.” She went on to ask that the phone call not be used — but realized it would be. “I’m like, ‘You’re not using it.’ But then, it’s too good not to use,” she said.

Why are fights among sisters so intense?

Lev and Cooper say siblings fights can be much more “intense” than a disagreement you might have with a friend. Why? It comes down to shared history.

“Feuds between sisters are different from those in a friendship and are much more intense,” Lev says, because they touch on “deeper wounds” found in 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood.

Fights between siblings tend to hurt more, too, because they “incorporate larger themes and patterns within the family,” Lev says.

“They address broader issues and patterns around scapegoating, the golden 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, fairness, and cooperation,” she continues.

Kourtney addressed underlying dynamics in the phone call that started Season Four of “The Kardashians,” when she leveled with Kim and said, “It’s not about the clothes.” Rather, she was upset about unresolved issues surrounding her wedding and who gets to be the “center of attention,” and when.

“You cannot stand someone else being the center of attention,” Kourtney said. “You came to my wedding. You couldn’t be happy. You complained from the second you got there from the second you left. That’s what it’s about. Forget that you couldn’t be happy. You couldn’t be happy for me. You couldn’t be happy that I was the center of attention and you weren’t.”

Lev says Kourtney’s feelings may stem from her younger sister being more prominently in the spotlight.

“This is a common experience that Kourtney has with Kim, where she feels her resources are taken away by Kim,” Lev says.

“This is related to deep early 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 wounds because Kourtney is the older sister and when younger siblings are 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧, older siblings feel that they lose love and resources that were only theirs from their parents,” she continues.

Why do sisters fight?

Sisters fight for a few reasons, de los Santos says. Common reasons include:

Attention and being “recognized as the best.”

Envy, or when “one is jealous of the other’s success.” This can emerge when one sister goes through rites of passage like marriages, 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren and career achievements. “If you have not achieved some of these things, it can creates jealousy and strife,” she says.

Insecurity and the need for validation

Feeling as if one sister is “meeting family standards” and the other is not.

De Los Santos also mentions the quest for “individuality,” which is relevant in this case.

“Sibling fights also arise when one sister feels that the other is copying her. During the process of growing up it is normal to seek individuality, to be different and to stand out, and when one sister feels that the other is copying her and that she is taken for granted on top of this, conflicts begin to form,” she says.