The sex tape went viral in 2007 around the same time Kim starting filming the first series of Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Kim Kardashian has revealed the real reason she made a sex tape with ex-boyfriend Ray J.

The 40-year-old shot to fame in 2007 after an adult entertainment company, who reportedly paid $1 million for it, leaked the tape online.

As it went viral, Kim and her family launched the first ever series of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

A decade and 20 seasons later, KUWTK is set to air its final episode on June 10, 2021.

While we wait to see if the series ends with a bang, Kim has finally opened up about her infamous sex tape – and how filming her family’s reality show helped her cope with the scandal.

Ray J and Kim Kardashian during Charlotte Ronson’s 2006 Fall/Winter Fashion Show and After Party at Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by Michael Tran/FilmMagic)

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the mum-of-four said: “I do think that, obviously, as producers, I’m sure they loved it. And loved [us] wanting to talk about the elephant in the room.

“And I probably wouldn’t have, unless it was for the show.

“Sometimes I feel like, ‘OK, I know I should probably deal and get this over with. Someone’s gonna ask me, so I might as well just go ahead and do it.”

She continued: “In a way, filming has helped us deal with things, instead of sweeping them under the rug.

Kim was 23 when she filmed the raunchy footage with Ray

“At the end of the day, I was always open and honest and wanted to share whatever I was going through. I wasn’t gonna hold back.”

Kim, who is currently estranged from husband Kanye West, made the sex tape in 2002 while she was dating singer’s Brandy’s brother, Ray J.

She was also working as a personal assistant to Brandy and Paris Hilton at the time.

The couple were on holiday in Cabo, Mexico, celebrating Kim’s 23rd birthday when they decided to film the frisky flick.

Asked by sister Kourtney Kardashian during an episode of KUWTK why she did it, Kim responded: “Because I was horny and I felt like it.”

Kim Kardashian says she made Ray J sex tape because she was ‘horny’

Singer Ray J appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017 and was asked about the sex tape and whether he had broken Kim’s heart.

He responded: “We’re the same kind of player. She was the female me.”

When probed further by his housemates, he added: “You don’t really know what happened. Put it like this – we were both players. We were both cheaters, you know?

“You’re looking at it from the outside, walking in and seeing her do my clothes or something. You don’t know what happened earlier, later… no clue. People think a lot of things.

“We loved each other. Every relationship I was in I loved the girl. It’s just the moral standards and values were off. I was loving and lying.”