Kris Jenner DID know about Bruce Jenner's transition attempt during 1980s: Olympian confessed to wife because he could no longer hide his 36B breasts

  • For the first time after worldwide speculation, Bruce Jenner confirmed to Diane Sawyer: 'I am a woman'
  • He once encapsulated what it meant to be an alpha male: Olympic champion, muscle-clad, hairy
  • Told Sawyer he was 'a confused person at that time' during Olympic days
  • He revealed all three wives, including Kris Jenner, knew he cross-dressed
  • He said 'If she had been good about it we'd probably still be together' 
  • First stepdaughter he told was Kim Kardashian who spotted him in a dress
  • Bruce said he is not gay, but would not confirm whether he sees himself settling with a man or a woman in the future

Bruce Jenner has revealed he started transitioning into a woman in the 1980s - and Kris Jenner knew about it.  

The 65-year-old has publicly addressed his gender reassignment in an interview with Diane Sawyer after months of speculation. 

He confirmed he always believed he was born with 'the soul of a woman', and this is the last time he would appear as 'Bruce' before becoming 'her'.

But the transition started more than two decades ago, and it was a secret he shared with all three of his wives. 

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Change of heart: Bruce has revealed Kris Jenner knew he had started a gender transition in the 1980s. But he says he stopped hormone injections  before the couple married.  He's seen here with Kris in February 1993

Change of heart: Bruce has revealed Kris Jenner knew he had started a gender transition in the 1980s. But he says he stopped hormone injections before the couple married.  He's seen here with Kris in February 1993

Bruce said he reached a point where he felt his purpose in life was to champion transgender rights, so fully embraced his journey towards transition as his marriage with Kris came to an end. Pictured in 2014

Bruce said he reached a point where he felt his purpose in life was to champion transgender rights, so fully embraced his journey towards transition as his marriage with Kris came to an end. Pictured in 2014

Revelations: Bruce said this is the last time he will appear as Bruce before he becomes 'her'

Revelations: Bruce said this is the last time he will appear as Bruce before he becomes 'her'

On Friday night, Jenner revealed he embarked on hormone therapy and electrolysis within 10 years of becoming an Olympic champion in 1976.

However, fear drove him to stop the process and continue giving motivational speeches as a man, he said.

'I felt like a liar,' he told Sawyer, reflecting on the speeches he gave, telling people to 'find the champion inside you' while wearing a suit. He admitted he would go back to his hotel after each event, take off his suit, and dress as 'her'.

Both his first and second wives knew about his secret, he revealed. 

'Chrystie was the first one to know,' he said of his first wife. 'I said these are my issues, this is what I deal with.'

She was loving, he said, but fundamentally believed she could change him.  

Linda Thompson, his second wife, knew it was something deeper, he said.

And for the first time, he has revealed that Kris Jenner always knew about his internal torment.

She saw him cross-dressing, he revealed, but he found it difficult to fully express how deep his feelings sat; that his believed his soul to be female. 

'I kind of downplayed it,' Jenner told Sawyer of the early days in his relationship with Kris. 'I feel like in a lot of ways, when you loves somebody, you have a tendency, you don't want to hurt them.'

He claims Kris was relatively low-key when she found out. 'She didn't say much... "OK, you gonna change now?"'

Bruce added: 'I probably was not as good at saying, "This is really down deep in my soul and I don't know if I can go any farther like this."

'It was tough on her. 

'You see your husband, I get that. I understand...Kris is a good woman. I've got no complaints with her. She's a good person.'

Family man:  Bruce and Kris tied the knot in April 1991 just months after meeting. Seen here in 2000 with their daughters Kendall and Kylie, the couple were married for 22 years. Bruce found fame again with a whole new generation thanks to the reality series about their blended family Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Family man:  Bruce and Kris tied the knot in April 1991 just months after meeting. Seen here in 2000 with their daughters Kendall and Kylie, the couple were married for 22 years. Bruce found fame again with a whole new generation thanks to the reality series about their blended family Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Reality stars: The advent of one of the world's biggest ever reality shows prompted Bruce to halt his process

Reality stars: The advent of one of the world's biggest ever reality shows prompted Bruce to halt his process

He said if Kris had been 'good about it' they 'probably would still be together'

He said if Kris had been 'good about it' they 'probably would still be together'

The couple stayed together for more than two decades, raised Kris's four children, Bruce's four children, and their two biological daughter Kendall and Kylie. 

Despite having 'a great sex life', Bruce said, he could no longer hide his 36B breasts. 

And he added: 'If she had been good about it, we'd probably still be together.'

ABC said Chrystie, Linda and Kris were asked for comments.

Though the show says Chrystie and Linda commented and Kris declined, the Kardashian momager claims ABC never contacted her.

Gossip writer Perez Hilton tweeted: 'Kris Jenner has no comment for ABC news and the #BruceJenner interview. His other two ex-wives give supportive statements.'

Kris tweeted back: 'F*** you Perez no one asked me to comment ....and I'm sitting with Bruce now watching this show so let's keep it real...LOL....'

Since achieving fame in 1976, when he won Olympic gold in the men's decathlon, Bruce, now 65, has notoriously undergone countless cosmetic procedures, from multiple nose jobs to the shaving down of his Adam's apple, many of which - including a revisionary face lift - have been documented as part of his well-known reality series Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Now sporting manicures and ponytails, the former Playgirl cover hunk has evolved from being the picture of American manliness into a favorite feminine topic of tabloid speculation.

After taking home the gold, Bruce was a national hero - and a national heartthrob. Muscles bulging, the athletic champ quickly became the media's darling, and appeared in a variety of advertisements, including a Wheaties box cover, as well as many magazine covers.

Body hair gone: Since this hairy-legged high jumper competed in Canada in 1976, he has reportedly undergone numerous electrolysis treatments, and photos from the 1975 Pan Am Games show a more hirsute physique

Body hair gone: Since this hairy-legged high jumper competed in Canada in 1976, he has reportedly undergone numerous electrolysis treatments, and photos from the 1975 Pan Am Games show a more hirsute physique

Before the changes: Bruce, seen here on set, still had his athletic physique and heavy set masculine features when he appeared in the 1980 film Can't Stop The Music. These were noticeably gone by the end of the decade

Before the changes: Bruce, seen here on set, still had his athletic physique and heavy set masculine features when he appeared in the 1980 film Can't Stop The Music. These were noticeably gone by the end of the decade

Changing body: In March, Bruce sparked further speculation about his plans to transition, when he was pictured with what appeared to be breasts, just a few months after it was reported that he had undergone a breast augmentation

Changing body: In March, Bruce sparked further speculation about his plans to transition, when he was pictured with what appeared to be breasts, just a few months after it was reported that he had undergone a breast augmentation

BRUCE JENNER'S GENDER TRANSITION TIMELINE 

January 2012: Ellen Pierson, who married Kris Jenner's ex-husband Robert Kardashian, claimed Bruce had been a cross-dresser 'for years.' She claimed his first wife Chrystie Crownover told her he had a penchant for women's clothing, shoes and lingerie.

That same month Star magazine alleged that Kris was unfazed by her husband's odd habit and that he continued to cross-dress for years after their 1991 wedding.

January 2014: The Olympic gold medalist reportedly underwent a laryngeal shave to flatted his Adam's Apple.

May 2014: Bruce refused to cut his long hair for Kim Kardashian's wedding to Kanye West, despite pressure from the bride and his estranged wife Kris Jenner. 

August 2014: Photos appeared to show Bruce had breasts, sparking rumors he was having hormone therapy as he explored the idea of transitioning from male to female.

September 2014: As his divorce from Kris was being finalized, Bruce had started growing out his hair and shaving his legs.

November 2014: He was spotted on various occasions wearing nail polish, a sports bra and Spanx.

December 2014: Bruce's first wife Chrystie Scott (nee Crownover) spoke out publicly in support of her former husband, saying 'I just want him to be happy.'

January 2015: When asked about her step-father's changing appearance, Kim Kardashian said he was on a 'journey' and added: 'He'll share whenever the time is right.' 

February 2015: TMZ reported that Bruce told his family that he has known he was meant to be a female since the age of five.

March 2015: People magazine claims his ex-wives Chrystie Crownover and Linda Thompson knew how he felt and both were supportive.

The same month he had rhinoplasty to give himself a more feminine nose.(This followed years of surgical procedures which began with a face-lift in the 1980s.)

March 31: It was claimed he'd had breast implants. 

April 6: ABC News announced that Bruce would do an 'far-ranging' interview with Diane Sawyer.

April 24 : A report claimed Bruce began the transgender process in 1980s, then stopped after meeting Kris Jenner.

Kim Kardashian broke her silence while attending an event in New York City and confirmed she and the rest of the Kardashian-Jenner family will be sitting down together to watch Bruce's interview on Friday night.

Just hours before the TV interview was set to air, Bruce's second wife Linda Thompson tweeted a message of support describing her ex-husband as 'a champion for those who share the struggle to just be who they are.'

In 1982, he famously posed shirtless on the cover of Playgirl magazine alongside then-wife Linda Thompson, now 64, epitomizing the manly ideal of a strong athlete with a hairy chest.

But underneath that uber-masculine exterior, Bruce confirms, he was already looking to transition from a man to a woman.

He told Diane Sawyer that in the mid-1980s, he started hormone therapy.

He was undergoing electrolysis to rid himself of his 'repulsive' facial hair, and had already gone under the knife in a bid to make himself look more like a woman.

In 1984, he got what his future step-daughter Kim Kardashian would later describe as an 'ill-advised' nose job and facelift. He had also noticeably begun thinning out his eyebrows, which only made him look like a better-groomed metrosexual.

On Friday, speaking in front of millions of viewers, including Kim Kardashian and her family, Bruce tearfully revealed: 'To all extents and purposes, I am a woman.

'My brain is much more female than it is male. That's what my soul is. Bruce lives a lie. She is not a lie.' He firmly added: 'I can't do it anymore.'  

Bruce revealed Kim Kardashian was the first of his stepdaughters to see him in a dress

Bruce revealed Kim Kardashian was the first of his stepdaughters to see him in a dress

Bruce reveals all his stepdaughters and his two teenage biological daughters (pictured together) have come to be supportive though they all cried at first, and Khloe (far right) found it difficult to accept

Bruce reveals all his stepdaughters and his two teenage biological daughters (pictured together) have come to be supportive though they all cried at first, and Khloe (far right) found it difficult to accept

HOW BRUCE JENNER'S FAMILY SHOWED SUPPORT ON SOCIAL MEDIA 

KRIS JENNER: 'Not only was I able to call him my husband for 25 years and father of my children, I am now able to call him my hero.' (She also lashed out out at Diane Sawyer for claiming she did not provide a comment to ABC on Bruce).

KIM KARDASHIAN: 'Love is the courage to live the truest, best version of yourself. Bruce is love. I love you Bruce. #ProudDaughter'

KOURTNEY KARDASHIAN: 'Couldn't be a more proud daughter. With courage and bravery, let's change the world. I am honored to stand by Bruce's side and support him.'

SCOTT DISICK: No public comment as yet. 

KHLOE KARDASHIAN: 'Just finished watching the #BruceJennerInterview with the family. Bruzer, I'm soooo proud of you! Dads really are heros'

ROB KARDASHIAN: No public comment as yet.

KENDALL JENNER: 'I love you. so very proud of you, my hero.'

KYLIE JENNER: 'Understandingly, this has been very hard for me. You will hear what I have to say when I'm ready to but this isn't about me. I'm so proud of you, Dad. You are so brave. My beautiful Hero.'

BRANDON JENNER 'Proud son.' Brandon and his wife Leah joined his siblings Burt, Brody and Casey on the Diane Sawyer interview, where they all voiced their support for Bruce. 

Clutching a tissue, Bruce remarked: 'We have to keep our sense of humor about this. Me of all people - Bruce Jenner - has to deal with these issues.'

Seconds later, he finally answered the question that has been on everyone's lips for the past year - is he transitioning from a man into a woman?

'I have always been very confused with my gender identity since I was this big,' admitted Bruce, lowering his hand to several feet above the ground.

'I identify as female. My whole life has been getting me ready for this. I'm really excited about the future, about what good I could do in the world.'

He revealed how he had explained his identity to his children. '[I told them] 'God's looking down, making little Bruce. He gave me all these wonderful qualities. [But then He thought] wait a second, we've got to give him something in his life to struggle with. Let's give him the soul of a female'.' he said.

Despite his self-proclaimed 'female soul', Bruce said he does not describe himself as a woman stuck in a man's body. 'I'm a person and that's who I am,' he said. 'I'm not stuck in anyone's body. It's just me. It's who I am.' He added that tonight's interview will be his last one as Bruce, as a 'he'.

And when asked if he dreams as a woman, he said he 'always' has done. 

HOW HOLLYWOOD REACTED TO BRUCE JENNER'S INTERVIEW 

LAVERNE COX: Sending lots of love and support to #BruceJenner and their family tonight. It is always brave to stand in one's truth. Congrats darling.

ROB LOWE: I was proud of Bruce Jenner in Montreal and I'm proud of him tonight. Some have to fight more than the rest of us for their happiness.

ELLEN DEGENERES: Bruce Jenner is a beautiful, brave human being. Sending him lots of love. He's saving lives and opening minds tonight.

MILEY CYRUS: I LOOOOVE LOOOVE LOOOVE Bruce Jenner!!!!!!!

LADY GAGA: #BruceJennerABC Now that is bravery. We have the chance to write this moment in history together. Let's empower people like Bruce all over the world by being loving & not mean

JIMMY FALLON: One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. #BruceJenner #Brave

LARRY KING: I've interviewed #BruceJenner many times, and I'm in his corner. I support him & offer my respect.

ANDY COHEN: Mazel Tov to #BruceJenner - very very brave!!!

ELTON JOHN It's an incredibly brave thing to do, especially when you're older. I admire him for doing it and I support him 100 percent.

DR PHIL McGRAW I am so happy for him. This is his body and his life, and he needs to do what he wants to do. It drains your spirit if you can't be yourself. He is freeing himself. 

LENA DUNHAM: I think it's an incredibly powerful and brave move to disclose anything about your gender identity or sexuality in such a judgmental society. The interview is going to mean a lot to a lot of young people. 

PATRICIA ARQUETTE: You have to be so brave to live this truth of who you are. And if Mrs. Jenner is transitioning, I give all my support to her and love and appreciate everything she’s given to America. She’s fighting a fight for a lot of kids that are being kicked out of their own homes. Society turns their back on these kids and it’s really brutal.

BOY GEORGE: I absolutely applaud what [Jenner’s] doing and I think it’s very brave. And it actually makes me quite emotional. [Jenner] has my 150 percent support in every way. I think that the whole transgender thing is the new frontier. 

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: This is going to be a little bit of a game changer for people, and dealing with family and how people feel and having those conversations, this is going to be much bigger than ABC or Diane (Sawyer),

JEFFREY TAMBOR: Any movement toward authenticity is an important movement and everyone can relate to it.

DONALD TRUMP: It's very sad because he doesn't seem very happy, and maybe whatever he’s going to be doing will make him happy. If he's happy, I'm happy. 

LARRY KING: 'Had amazing talk with Olympian Rafer Johnson this week, who fully supports his fellow gold medal decathlon winner #BruceJenner & so do I' 

KIRSTIE ALLEY: 'Trying to find a place for myself midst a world that has mistaken bravery for insanity...Mandela was brave...the rest of this sh*t is absurd' 

WENDY WILLIAMS I feel duped by Bruce… I don’t feel duped because he’s turning into a woman. I feel duped because he’s the same fame whore as the rest of the family. Bruce has bigger fish to fry than turning into Belinda. He should have thought about [transitioning] before he had all the kids… Belinda, shame on you!  

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