How Kylie Jenner's Rumored Pregnancy Could Affect Her Makeup Empire

Late in the afternoon last Friday, the ever-churning Kardashian rumor mill produced something truly extraordinary: Kylie Jenner, sources claim, is pregnant.

According to reports from People and TMZ, Jenner, 20, is said to be carrying the child of rapper Travis Scott, 25, whom she was first spotted with back in April after her split from Tyga. “It is an unexpected but completely amazing turn of events that [Kylie] could not be more excited or thrilled about,” a “Kardashian insider” told People. Some outlets are even reporting that she is expecting a girl, due in early 2018.

Now, remember: Kylie may be an entrepreneur with an estimated $50 million net worth and the keys to a $125,000-a-month clifftop compound set on five acres of land in Beverly Hills (just temporarily, until renovations have been completed on the $12 million Hidden Hills mansion she calls home), but she is still a 20-year-old with a helicopter momager, and there are many practical concerns to be had about bringing a child into the world, regardless of the age and marital status of the parents or whoever plans to raise them. But, as yet another insider reportedly told People, Kris Jenner is mainly concerned that her youngest daughter’s still-unconfirmed pregnancy could put one major thing in jeopardy: the future of Kylie Cosmetics.

Kylie is the founder, chief executive officer, chief marketing officer, and chief creative officer of her company, which, as Kris confirmed to WWD in August, sold $420 million in product in its first 18 months of existence. With a 25% increase in sales expected for this year, the company is projected to rake in $386 million for 2017, and at this rate, Kylie Cosmetics is on track to be a billion-dollar business by 2022. “Kylie has worked so hard to build that empire,” the source is quoted as saying. “Kris doesn’t want to see the pregnancy affect how that is perceived.”

Aside from being an HR violation, it’s a pretty negative line of thinking on the part of whoever thought it up, be it actually Kris Jenner herself or the unnamed source who’s decided to go anonymous for a reason. Unfortunately, the erroneous belief that motherhood in and of itself is bad for business is still all too prevalent, even in a post-Lean In world. It diminishes the role of women as active participants in their own lives, who can work and raise children or work and not raise children or not work and not raise children and any other combination thereof.

But in this particular instance, it’s especially hard to fathom how the news could hold Kylie back. What, exactly, are the ways in which pregnancy could negatively impact her business, a business that she owns and operates? Kylie Jenner will not be the first makeup mogul to split her time between the board meeting and the bassinet: Bobbi Brown, Lisa Price, and Marcia Kilgore beat her to it, just to name a few, and Estée Lauder and Helena Rubenstein before that. It’s not new — in fact, we’ve gotten very, very good at it.

Aside from the People report, Kris hasn’t said anything to the press would imply that she’s worried about her daughter’s business, but regardless of who says what in the convoluted context of Kardashian-Jenner life, bringing Kylie’s ability to work with a (rumored) child on the way doesn’t do anyone any favors. It’ll be interesting for the family’s audience to see firsthand how a driven young mother from a wealthy and well-known family handles juggling a new baby and a billion-dollar beauty empire, while her older sister also navigates motherhood for the first time. Actually, when you put it that way, this could all make a great plot for a reality TV show...