Who were Caitlyn Jenner's wives? Love life with Chrystie Crownover, Kris Kardashian and Elvis' ex Linda Thompson
Caitlyn Jenner, a former Olympic decathlete and reality TV star, declared her candidacy for governor of California on Friday, April 23. The transgender activist announced her bid amid growing demand to recall the state's current Democratic governor Gavin Newsom.
Jenner is banking on her celebrity status to win in the nation's most populous state. “California has been my home for nearly 50 years. I came here because I knew that anyone, regardless of their background or station in life, could turn their dreams into reality,” Jenner said in a press release posted on Twitter. Jenner, born William Bruce Jenner, was married three times prior to her public gender transition. Here's what's to know about his ex-wives.
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I’m in! California is worth fighting for. Visit https://t.co/a1SfOAMZQ3 to follow or donate today. #RecallNewsom pic.twitter.com/9yCck3KK4D
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) April 23, 2021
Chrystie Crownover
Chrystie Scott was Jenner's first wife. Their nine-year marriage lasted from 1972 to 1981. On December 16, 1972, she married Bruce Jenner and gave birth to Burt on September 6, 1978. The couple welcomed another child, Casey, on June 10, 1980. They met at Grace-land College in Iowa and became college sweethearts.
Chrystie assisted Bruce in getting through school. In fact, under Chrystie's strict supervision, Jenner made the dean's list on two occasions. In a post-Olympic book, author Phillip Finch recalls that it was a household joke that "If they should ever divorce, there may be a nasty argument over who gets custody of Bruce's diploma".
In a 1980 interview with The Vault, the Olympian said, "I'm getting a divorce from Chrystie — the ail-American couple is splitting up. A lot has changed. But now I'm in control of my life; I run the whole thing." In the same interview, Chrystie prefers to speak about Bruce's future.
"I tend to vacillate, I guess, on what course would be the best for him. I think that he has a super future as a sports newscaster or color man; he's becoming more and more relaxed at it. At the same time, the movies offer an exciting challenge," she said. "I must say that in Can't Stop the Music, while he played a naive, unaffected part, he's such a dazzling-looking man that he carried it off well. I was disappointed in that movie — but not in Bruce's contribution to it," she added.
She said she thought there was a "definite future" for Jenner in the movies. "Only one thing," she added, "If I were still involved (she pauses, almost imperceptibly) — which I'm not — I'd advise him to stay away from playing a sports role. Better for his career, I think, if he were to play something else.
When asked about whether he will marry again and settle down, Jenner had said: "Well, yeah. That's more my lifestyle. I don't really like running around; it's very boring. I believe in serious relationships and sharing my life with somebody." And so he did.
Linda Thompson
On January 5, 1981, Jenner married actress Linda Thompson in Hawaii, and their marriage lasted five years. By February 1986, the couple had separated and eventually divorced. Linda was crowned Miss Tennessee in 1972. She was also a longtime girlfriend of Elvis Presley. NBC also got Linda's permission to do a show with the theme 'I Was Elvis' Girlfriend'.
Jenner was dating Thompson in 1980, three years after Elvis died. In that same interview with The Vault, he had said: "Linda is a great, great lady. It's funny; because of her romance with Elvis and that whole bizarre scene, you'd think she would be different. But, no. She's one of the most down-home, nice, warm girls. She doesn't drink or anything, and she's very serious. I didn't want to get out of one relationship into another. But she came into my life when it was very difficult, a very down time."
Their Hawaii wedding took place at sunset in a palm-and-coconut-tree setting at the Oahu home of film producer Allan Carr, reported The New York Times. Thompson, who was a regular on the syndicated country music TV show 'Hee Haw', had her sister-in-law Louise Thompson as matron of honor. Chrystie's son Burt was Jenner's best man. He was only two years old at the time.
The couple has two sons together, Brandon and Brody. The boys later starred on the reality show 'The Princes of Malibu'. Brody appeared in 'The Hills'. Both of them are in the music industry.
Kris Kardashian
After five months of dating, Jenner married Kris Kardashian on April 21, 1991. Kendall and Kylie are their two children. Jenner was a step-parent to Kris's children from a previous marriage with Robert Kardashian — Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Robert, who star in the reality show 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians'. By this time, Jenner too had four children from previous marriages.
The couple divorced in June 2013, but it wasn't officially confirmed until October, four months later. "We are living separately and we are much happier this way," the pair told E! News in an exclusive 2013 interview. "But we will always have much love and respect for each other. Even though we are separated, we will always remain best friends and, as always, our family will remain our number one priority."
For months, the couple was dogged by rumors of marital strife but the family had maintained a united front in debunking those claims. "We just laugh it off," Kris told E! News a year earlier in 2012, regarding tabloid reports that the duo was divorcing. "We love each other and just laugh about it... These kind of stories have been circulating for the last couple of years." The couple was married for 22 years. Kris filed for divorce in September 2014, citing irreconcilable differences.
When Kim Kardashian married Kanye West in Italy in May, Bruce was there to walk her down the aisle.