After a brave Bruce Jenner shared his story with the world in an interview with Diane Sawyer, the Olympian’s family opened up about their response to the news in a two-part Keeping Up With the Kardashians special, About Bruce.
The first part focused on Jenner finally telling stepdaughters Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe Kardashian and daughters Kendall and Kylie Jenner the truth about how he is a transgender woman, while the second featured a tense conversation with ex-wife Kris Jenner about the demise of their marriage and the aftermath of the revelation.
If there’s one thing the Kardashians are known for, it’s their honesty and willingness to tackle a plethora of possibly private topics on camera, so it was especially nice to see them open up about something so important.
It was an emotional two hours, where both the Kardashian family members and Jenner himself had beautiful, sometimes difficult things to say about the transition and its effect on the family. Below, some of the biggest revelations.
Kendall Jenner Caught Bruce in a Dress
“We would find things like makeup, and we thought he was having an affair at one point, and we didn’t know what to do,” Kendall said in hour one. She even saw her dad dressed as a woman and hid from him. “We didn’t want our family to be broken up, so we didn’t tell anybody.”
Khloe Kardashian Didn’t Want to Offend
One of Bruce’s major points was that the reason he kept this secret from his family for so long is because he was afraid of hurting them and letting them down. And while Khloe took the news the hardest, she also felt pressure not to let anyone down.
“Coming in and doing this interview I do have high anxiety,” she said in her part one solo interview. “I don’t know if I’m saying the right thing, if I’m using the right terminology. I don’t want to offend anyone. I’m fine with him dressing as a woman. I want Bruce to be happy.”
A New Nickname
“We should call you Mad,” Kylie suggested when she and her sisters were talking to Bruce about what pronouns they should use and when he would assume his female identity full time. “Yeah, Mad,” Kourtney agreed. “Mom and dad, and you’re a little bit crazy.”
The Little Thing Down There
While discussing the logistics of Bruce’s transition, Kim asked her stepfather about what surgeries he had planned for the future. “So, like you don’t have a surgery to remove that and then that means you’re the woman,” she said while motioning you-know-where.
“Remove the little thing down there? You can do an awful lot before that,” he said. “As of right now, no,” Jenner did not have an appointment scheduled.
Telling the Grandkids
Scott Disick had his own sit-down with Jenner, and later he and girlfriend Kourtney Kardashian discussed the conversation they will eventually have to have with oldest son Mason. “Some day Mason is going to ask whatever happened to that grandpa he used to have,” Disick said, and Kourtney added that she just wants to wait until Jenner has the opportunity to settle into his new identity.
Clash With Kris
After the controversy over Kris Jenner not commenting for the Sawyer special, seeing Bruce and Kris sit down and discuss the demise of their marriage face-to-face was an extremely emotional moment. While she knew he had identity issues, “You never said that this was going to be the end result, ever,” she told her ex. “So now it makes sense to me, and I just think that being honest is something we all would’ve appreciated and I think the truth in your head is different than the truth that came out of your mouth, and the truth in your head is different than your actions.”
But Bruce said the reason he wasn’t honest with her is because he wasn’t honest with himself. “I’ve always had these issues, honey, and I’ve never dealt with them,” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to do, for the first time in my life, I’m trying to tell the truth. … You are the toughest one to talk to out of anybody, okay?”
Kris shot back, “Well, maybe it’s because I’m the person you lied to the longest.”
Apologies
Bruce apologized to Kris, who then told her spouse of two-plus decades that she just wanted him to “live the happiest life you can live. I just want you to know that you were a great dad, you were a great friend, and you were a great partner. At the end of the day it’s not about my feelings, it’s about you, and I just want you to be happy.”
Bruce’s Responsibility
While Jenner told Sawyer in their ABC News interview that he was “not a spokesman for the community,” in About Bruce, he acknowledged the visibility he will bring to the cause.
“The transgender issue right now is kind of where the gay issue was 30, 40 years ago,” he said. “A lot of people don’t understand it and what we need is tolerance towards that community. Because of the situation I am in, I think we can do a lot of good.”
He ended the special by acknowledging that he wants to do good in the world before he leaves it. “The only thing I want out of this is just to help people,” he said. “Not just the transgender community — it’s really bigger than that. It’s so much more. There are so many things about tolerance towards people, about understanding of people.”
Tell Us: What was your favorite part of the About Bruce special?
