Kris Jenner thinks her 1991 split from Robert Kardashian prompted her to grow up because she had to suddenly provide for herself and her four kids.
The 64-year-old showbiz matriarch and Robert divorced in 1991 – and their split led to a dramatic change in Kris’ outlook on life, with the TV star admitting to being scared for her future and that of her children.
‘I didn’t know what to do. I had four kids, I was single. I didn’t know where I was going to live. I didn’t know how I was going to make a living. It was the scariest time to be that young,’ she said.
Tough parting: Kris Jenner thinks her 1991 split from Robert Kardashian prompted her to grow up because she had to suddenly provide for herself and her four kids. Seen in the 1980s
The fam: Kris had Kourtney, 40, Kim, 39, Khloe, 35, and Rob, 32, with Robert
Kris had Kourtney, 40, Kim, 39, Khloe, 35, and Rob, 32, with her ex-husband.
Kris remembers feeling ‘really scared’ after splitting from Robert, who died in 2003, aged 59.
She told the ‘InCharge With DVF’ podcast: ‘I think I was 32 years old, and I had four little children.
‘My son was maybe a year old and it was scary. I was really, really scared.
The little ones: Here the lawyer is seen with his eldest kids, Kim and Kourtney
‘I remember picking myself up by my bootstraps one day.
‘I have deep faith in God and I just started praying that God would strengthen me, give me that power, give me the ability to be in charge of my own life.
‘It was my turn to really grow up.’
So young: Kim was only 11-years-old when her parents divorced; seen here as a teenager
Kris also revealed she still regrets the role she played in breaking up her family.
The reality TV star – who also has daughters Kendall, 24, and Kylie, 22, from her second marriage – said: ‘I got married when I was very, very young.
‘I met Robert when I was 18 years old.
‘We dated for four years, got married at 22. Sooner or later during my life when I was in my 30s, I had an affair and my biggest regret was the fact that it broke up my family.’
In 2012, Kris confessed that she had an affair with former soccer player and animator Todd Waterman during her marriage to Kardashian.
Her next ex: Then came Bruce Jenner. ‘We started dating and that happened really quickly and all that I noticed — and I’m sure he would agree with me — was that he wasn’t really taking advantage of all the gifts that he had,’ she said of her ex-husband, who has since transitioned to Caitlyn Jenner
She referred to Waterman as ‘Ryan’ in her autobiography, but he revealed his identity on his own.
Then came Bruce Jenner.
‘We started dating and that happened really quickly and all that I noticed — and I’m sure he would agree with me — was that he wasn’t really taking advantage of all the gifts that he had,’ she said of her ex-husband, who has since transitioned to Caitlyn Jenner.
‘He wanted to be on the speaking tour and do all these different things. And I don’t know really where it all came from but by trial and error and by really rolling up my sleeves and trying to figure it out, I was able to get his speaking career started again.’
Now: These days Kris is a multimillionaire thanks to Keeping Up With The Kardashians