Kim Kardashian -- I'm NOT Asking for a Divorce So I Can Marry Kanye West

Kim Kardashian is telling close friends she is not pushing for a divorce so she can marry Kanye West -- she's saying Kris Humphries has simply become "a cancer" she wants out of her life forever.

Sources connected with Kim tell TMZ ... after Wednesday's court hearing, Kim said, "Kris is the first person I ever had to break-up with and that f**ked with my emotions." She added, when their marriage started to fall apart "He told our producers he would destroy my career and me if the show wasn't edited right."

Kim, who is telling friends she is "emotionally exhausted" from dealing with Kris, says if he really thinks he can convince a judge she defrauded him, wait 'til he sees the outtakes of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" -- which show Kris as a "manipulative, vindictive, petty, fame-hungry jerk."