But for Jenner’s other biological children, her association with reality TV’s first family came at a cost. In 2020, Brandon Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner’s second-oldest son, wrote about his strained relationship with his father growing up in his book “To Me, He Was Just Dad: Stories of Growing Up with Famous Fathers.” Caitlyn Jenner is a trans woman but her children still refer to her as “dad” or their “father” so, for the purposes of this article, we will be doing the same. 41-year-old Brandon says that his time with Caitlyn never felt genuine, according to multiple outlets — that his time with her didn’t feel authentic.
Brandon Jenner has accused Caitlyn Jenner of being an absent parent.
“I didn’t see my father more than half a dozen times between the ages eight and twenty-five,” Brandon writes. He opens up about his tumultuous childhood with his father, saying Caitlyn bought Brandon a $250 bike, and he owed her the money back. He was only eight. RELATED: 6 Times Kim Kardashian Copied Pete Davidson & Ariana Grande’s Relationship Weeks later, at a beach, Caitlyn picked up an apricot from a tree and told Brandon if he could hit a tree 60 feet away, he’d only need to pay back half the money for the bike. Brandon hit it dead center, which made him proud, but Caitlyn was less enthusiastic. “Perhaps he was (proud), but all he said was, ‘Now you just owe me one hundred twenty-five dollars.’ I was eight and had no idea how I’d make the money,” he recalls.
In his book, Brandon writes that after Caitlyn married Kris Jenner in 1991, everything changed.
He brings up how he never liked to be around the Kardashian household. That although he has a strong bond with sisters Kendall and Kylie, he admitted it was never his thing to be there. “After Dad met and married Kris, family became a business for him, and I stayed away for most of my teenage years,” he says. “I didn’t want to be a part of their dynamic.” RELATED: Kendall Jenner & Devin Booker Accused Of ‘Staging’ Reunion Photos To Save Her Reputation “Sadly, the infrequent exchanges felt more like staged photo opportunities than real bonding,” he writes to which he later adds that they were photo ops for Christmas cards. Brandon also says that his father never felt happy in the household, saying, “I know now, though, that Dad was pretty unhappy in that house and felt like he wasn’t treated well.” After Caitlyn’s transition in 2015, Brandon noted how their relationship changed for the better. Brandon wished his mother made her transition sooner rather than later, saying, not only because I think she would have been happier but because I think we could have built a stronger relationship earlier."
Caitlyn’s other son Brody Jenner was also candid about his relationship with his father.
Brody Jenner also spoke about his relationship with his mother in a 2019 episode of “The Hills,” according to Page Six. “Bruce was just never really around,” Brody said. “Every so often, maybe once every couple of years. He wasn’t around for my graduation. He wasn’t around for most of my birthdays. So, yeah, there really wasn’t any relationship. It was very surface,” he continued. “Eventually, we started to become closer. And then, all of a sudden, it was like… I was just getting to know Bruce, and then Bruce became Caitlyn.” Brandon also echoed the same thing about growing up without his father, saying, “I didn’t really, you know? When I was really little, we got to spend a little bit of time.” “When he started, you know, obviously with the family, the Kardashian family, and all of that, I didn’t really see much of him,” he said. While Brody did not have the same revelation that Brandon did now that he and Caitlyn are close again, he does support the transition his father made. “Caitlyn is a totally different person than Bruce,” he said. “It’s her true self, but Bruce was always holding a lot back and being somebody totally different.” RELATED: 7 Extreme Things Kim & Khloe Kardashian Have Done To Lose Weight Kurtis Condra is a writer for YourTango, based in San Francisco, California. His expertise includes pop-culture deep dives, human interest stories, and news. When not writing for YourTango, he focuses on his poetry. You can follow his poetic journey on Instagram.
