Brody Jenner calls Caitlyn Jenner's gender transition on TV 'not genuine' and 'invasive'

Brody Jenner opened up about his complicated relationship with his father Caitlyn Jenner during Wednesday's episode of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. 

The MTV alum reflected on feeling 'abandoned' during his childhood, particularly when Caitlyn married Kris Jenner, started a new family, and became the star of a reality show.

Caitlyn, who transitioned in 2015, was a fixture on Keeping Up with the Kardashians from 2007 to 2021, alongside then-wife Kris and their daughters Kendall and Kylie, as well as Kris’ children from her marriage to Robert Kardashian Sr.—Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob Kardashian.

'I think not having Bruce around growing up and her doing that transition, it was tough just being her son,' he explained. 

Brody added, 'I will say he was going through his own struggles, transitioning, and it was all that was put on TV, and there were these moments that we would have that was all filmed, and it just felt very invasive and not very genuine, I would say.'

Despite the past tensions, Brody shared that his relationship with Caitlyn has improved. 

'Just recently, I got a real, sincere apology,' he said. 'It was the first time in my life that I've ever gotten an apology. You know, "I'm sorry for not being there," and honestly, it meant a lot.'

In a separate confessional on Special Forces, Brody opened up about his father's transition, reflecting on the impact it had on their relationship. 

'When I found out that Caitlyn, or Bruce, wanted to be Caitlyn, it was sort of a relief,' he began.

'I think that there were a lot of things that started to make sense, you know, just in my life, about my father, and maybe why he wasn't there all those years.'

He added: 'And I think when you have kids, you need to accept a little bit of responsibility that the things you do are also going to reflect on them as well. 

'I think it really has shaped me to do everything different and to really be there and to be present to my little girl.'

Brody’s fiancée Tia Blanco gave birth to their daughter Honey in July 2023.

Previously, in 2019, Brody has expressed total disinterest in watching Caitlyn when she appeared on the ITV reality series I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!.

When he was asked if he would be rooting for the former athlete, he replied, 'I don't even know what that is,' though he added that he hoped she would be 'OK' during her time in the jungle.

Earlier that year, during his stint on The Hills: New Beginnings, Brody claimed that he and Caitlyn never had a 'great relationship' when he was growing up.

While speaking to his mother Linda in one episode, he admitted that 'it really hurts' that Caitlyn had canceled her plans to come to what he described as his wedding to Kaitlynn Carter just a week before the ceremony.

However, he and Kaitlynn — whom he split from later in 2019 — subsequently explained that they were never legally married and instead only had a commitment ceremony.

In the same episode he claimed that Caitlyn had failed to call her children on their birthdays in the past.