Kris Jenner Explains How First Divorce Helped Her With Split From Bruce Jenner: It Was "Ugly" but a Learning Experience

"The good in my life so outweighs the bad," Keeping Up With the Kardashians matriarch tells the ladies of The Talk

By Natalie Finn Nov 04, 2014 10:23 PMTags
Kris Jenner, The TalkCBS

Could Kris Jenner be more upbeat these days?

Of course, having a nice new gentleman in her life can't hurt, but the Keeping WIth the Kardashians matriarch has been through so much over the years, she can't help but be equipped with all the ammo necessary to face life's challenges head-on and power through.

Chatting with the ladies of The Talk this morning about aging, self-confidence and dealing with her second divorce, Kris—who turns 59 tomorrow—shared some of the secrets of her positive attitude.

"I have so many kids and so many family member,s and my kids have so many people that come with them and their lives and grandchildren now," she said. "I feel like every month, it's somebody's birthday in my house ,or every week. But I think, what's the alternative? You know what, I'm so blessed to wake up every morning, feel good, feel strong. I want to embrace that and just be an example to people that are my age that you can look good and feel good at any age. And it's sometimes a mental thing."

Well, they say that age is only a state of mind!

"Like we all have really bad days and we have things that are you, you know, that we feel are imperfections, but if you just encourage each other—my mom taught me, 'when you leave the house, go out of the house and present yourself to the world and be your best.' She's 80 8years old this year and she still does that. And it's taught me and my girls, just feel good about yourself!"

Oohs and ahs from the Talk crew.

"As the years tick on, the decades," the mother of six continued, "you do things decade after decade and I think it's just about having some inner joy and finding some happiness."

Asked about how she's processed the experience of going through an extremely public split from Bruce Jenner after 22 years of marriage, Kris admitted that it hasn't been easy—but we can choose not to make such a thing even harder than it is, at least mentally.

"I think you choose to do things," Kris mused. "I went through a divorce a long time ago with Robert Kardashian and it was not fun. It was so scary and I was so young and I had four kids and it was... and then we ended up being best friends. But there was a period of a couple of years in there where it was really, you know, ugly and hard. You didn't want the kids to take sides."

She and Kardashian divorced in 1991 and she married Bruce not long after. They announced in October 2013 that they were living apart and she filed for divorce in September.

"Well, that was a really good learning experience for me," Kris continued, "because I learned how to deal with something again, if I ever...if it ever came up and now we're going through it. You can choose to do things in a real grown-up way and be friends through something and make it so that everyone around you is comfortable and happy.

Araya Diaz/Getty Images

"And I think that all the good things..." she paused for the applause. "Yeah, it's a decision...Divorce is a decision. It's not a good decision but we're happier living apart than we were together. Everybody feels it. But anything can happen. And the good in my life so outweighs the bad. You can't get mad at [life too much when] another grandchild is coming. So it's such joy and we're all happy and looking forward.

"I like to look at the glass half-full and not half empty. So every day, I get up and count my blessings and I thank god that everyone is happy and healthy and strong and we'll get through."

Catch up with the family this fall on Kourtney & Khloé Take the Hamptons, airing Mondays on E! at 9 p.m.

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