'Heavy hearts': Keeping Up With The Kardashians ending after 20 seasons

Keeping Up With The Kardashians will end after its 20th season and 14 years of filming, the reality television family has announced. 

"We've decided as a family to end this very special journey," a statement from the Kardashians on social media reads. 

"We are beyond grateful to all of you who've watched us for all of these years - through the good times, the bad times, the happiness, the tears, and the many relationships and children.

"We'll forever cherish the wonderful memories and countless people we've met along the way." 

Neither the Kardashian/Jenner family nor E! Entertainment gave a specific reason for the end of the show's run, but the network said they "respected the family's decision to live their lives without our cameras". 

In her own personal statement, Kim Kardashian said she "wouldn't be where she was today" without the show, which in its early seasons starred her as the central subject, while the rest of her family were relatively unknown. 

"This show made us who we are and I will be forever in debt to everyone who played a role in shaping our career and changing our lives forever," she concluded. 

Kim's sisters Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, brother Rob Kardashian, half-sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner, mother Kris Jenner and Kourtney's former partner Scott Disick all became celebrities in their own rights due to the success of the show. 

Kris' former partner Caitlyn Jenner also spent many years on the show, but her name was not included in the family's statement. She went on to star in her own reality series I Am Cait after she came out as a trangender woman. 

It's not known if the decision to end filming of the wildly popular reality show was in any way influenced by the recent controversy around Kim and her husband Kanye West, who prompted outrage with his anti-abortion rant at a presidential rally and went on to hurl accusations at his family in several concerning Twitter tirades. 

Keeping Up With The Kardashians premiered in October 2007 and spawned a total of 12 spin-off series.