Caitlyn Jenner is getting nostalgic as Keeping Up With the Kardashians hits the homestretch.
The 71-year-old reality star, who was unveiled as The Masked Singer's Phoenix during the Wednesday, March 17 episode, tells E! News in an exclusive interview that a certain moment from KUWTK's epic 20-season run stands out the most to her.
Caitlyn reveals her fondest memory to be "episode one, just to see how young Kendall and Kylie [Jenner] were, and how young everybody was, and I remember those times when we had pitched the show to the E! Network. And they liked the idea. They said, 'OK, we'll shoot six episodes.' And they only gave us one camera to shoot an entire family. It was one camera, and to see Kendall and Kylie that young, and all the other kids that young, really not knowing, in a lot of ways, what they're doing. They're just having fun, and somebody sitting in the house to share that experience with them."
She continues, "To see those first few episodes, and little did you know, when they gave us six episodes, it would be like 500 or something, whatever they've done at this point. To know we were on such a long journey together as a family. It's by far probably the most important memory that I have of the show, is at the beginning stages."
Caitlyn also shares that a special aspect to filming KUWTK, which launches its final season Thursday, March 18, is that it forced the family members to address everything going on in their lives. While there were some tough times, the experience of shooting together made them closer as a unit.
"In a lot of ways, it brought the family so much closer together, so much stronger as a family," the I Am Cait alum explains. "When things come up, they can share with family members because everybody's in the same boat. So for me, that was by far one of the best things."
One topic that perhaps not everyone was in the same boat on was Caitlyn's decision to try her hand at The Masked Singer. The star, who admits that a singing show is "totally out of my element," had to keep her involvement a secret from most of the world. But she did tell Kylie and Kendall ahead of time, and let's just say they had some questions.
"Their first reaction was, 'Dad why are you doing that?'" Caitlyn recalls. "And I said, 'Why not? I'm doing nothing else. I need a challenge. I want to try something new.' And they go, 'Dad, you're crazy.' So, obviously, I had their complete support."
Ultimately, her daughters came around, and they've been thrilled at the prospect of cheering on the Phoenix. "They'll definitely be watching," Caitlyn says. "They've asked me three or four times, 'When's that show coming on the air?' I said, 'Well, you know, you gotta watch the first episode. That's as far as we go.'"
The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox.