Bruce Jenner's Gender Identity Reveal Was Difficult For Kris Jenner Says Family Friend Kathie Lee Gifford

Following Bruce Jenner’s powerful interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC Friday night, his reveal that he identifies as a woman is still a big topic of discussion among media people. This includes Jenner’s longtime friend Kathie Lee Gifford, who shared thoughts on his announcement and how it affected his ex-wife.

Speaking on NBC's “Today” show Monday, Gifford gave viewers some insight on the matter as she spoke with co-host Hoda Kotb. Gifford is a very good friend to both Jenner, who chooses to be referred to with masculine pronouns for the time being, and his ex-wife, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star Kris Jenner. In the TV special, two of Jenner’s three wives gave statements about the 65-year-old former Olympian’s decision to publicly identify as a woman. Kris Jenner allegedly had "no comment" for Sawyer's interview, and celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton took notice. After a back-and-forth Twitter spat between Hilton and Kris, she revealed that not only was she not approached by ABC for the interview, but she watched the whole thing with her ex-husband sitting right next to her.

Still, Gifford says that the whole situation is not something Kris was prepared for.

“The other [wives], both fine women, had a long time to get used to this. This was new to Kris. She’s trying to get her act together. She’s trying to be a good friend to him. Trying to still be a good parent. And it’s complicated in ways that we cannot even comprehend,” Gifford said in the video below.

It was previously hinted that Kris was having difficulty with her ex-husband’s transition. Bruce Jenner even addressed the issue, saying that it was a difficult bit of information for his ex-wife to digest. He even admitted that he thinks they’d still be together if he’d decided not to move forward with his transition.

“We also know that there are children ... that have to learn how to deal with this. If you could imagine the surprise,” Gifford said of Jenner’s transition. “I mean, how do you deal with that? The way you do is ultimately when you put love first and try to put yourself in someone else’s high heels, I suppose, and Louboutins in their case. The story isn’t over, obviously. The transition goes on.”

Check out the clip from “Today” and comment with your thoughts.