Brandon Jenner is opening up about his fractured relationship with his father, Caitlyn Jenner, growing up.
Brandon Jenner is opening up about his fractured relationship with his father, Caitlyn Jenner, growing up.
The 38-year-old singer wrote an essay for To Me, He Was Just Dad -- a collection of first-person stories from children who grew up with famous fathers -- in which he discusses the nature of their relationship during his formative years. Brandon, whose mother is actress Linda Thompson, says he rarely ever saw Caitlyn after the Olympic champion married his now ex-wife, Kris Jenner, in 1991.
"I didn't see my father more than half a dozen times between the ages eight and 25," he writes, according to Page Six.
He also shares that the time they did spend together didn't feel genuine for him.
"Sadly the infrequent exchanges felt more like staged photo opportunities than real bonding," he writes. "In fact, they were stage photo ops for 'family' Christmas cards."
But according to the outlet, Brandon admits he also purposely avoided the famous Kardashian household. Caitlyn still appears to be close to her two daughters with Kris, 22-year-old Kylie and 24-year-old Kendall Jenner.
"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. I know now, though, that Dad was pretty unhappy in that house and felt like he wasn’t treated well."
According to Page Six, another anecdote Brandon tells is of Caitlyn being a tough father. Brandon says that when he was eight years old, Caitlyn bought him a bike that cost $250 but made him promise to pay her back for it, though Brandon had "no idea" how to do that at that age.
These days, Brandon has a much friendlier relationship with 70-year-old Caitlyn. According to the outlet, he says that he believes that if Caitlyn had came out as transgender earlier, they could have had a "stronger" relationship much sooner.
Last July, Brandon's younger brother, 36-year-old Brody Jenner, also opened up about being distant from Caitlyn growing up during an episode of The Hills: New Beginnings.
"I didn't really grow up with my dad," Brody told MTV cameras. "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."
"Bruce was just never really around," he added. "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. 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."
It appeared that the two still weren't close.
"She's happy and running around," Brody said of Caitlyn. "She's off living her life. And what I've learned is to not expect too much from her."
Last July, a source told ET, "Brody and Caitlyn don't really have much of a relationship, and it's been like this for a really long time."
"They go through ups and downs of time spent together or talking and then no contact," the source continued. "Brody opened up about Caitlyn [on The Hills] because for years Caitlyn and the Kardashians have been able to have their narrative on everything, now Brody has an outlet to do it."
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