NEED TO KNOW
- On Oct. 30, Caitlyn Jenner made her first appearance on The Kardashians
- She surprised her family, after Kris Jenner called her to invite her, at their farewell dinner in their L.A. home, which they refer to as El Dorado Meadow
- During the episode, Caitlyn’s daughter, Kendall Jenner, was candid about where things stand between them and how tricky things can be
The vibes were a little weird when Caitlyn Jenner reunited with her family for one last dinner at their former home.
On the Thursday, Oct. 30 episode of The Kardashians, Kris Jenner shocked her kids as she invited her ex to join them for their farewell dinner in the Hidden Hills home they owned for 15 years.
“Your Dad and I bought this house many years ago, and I think one person isn’t here that should be here to say goodbye with us to this house,” Kris, 69, said as the family stood in a circle holding hands before eating dinner. She said it “wouldn’t be the same” without Caitlyn, 76, there, too, and in she walked.
It was clear that no one knew ahead of time that Caitlyn would be joining, and there were some shocked faces as Kris continued, “I was just saying, we bought this house for Kendall and Kylie and all the kids to grow up in, and we were so excited to make so many special memories.”
“That is so true,” Caitlyn said. The appearance marked the first time Caitlyn has appeared on the Hulu reality series, which premiered in 2022 after Keeping Up with the Kardashians concluded.
When The Kardashians was announced and it was revealed that Caitlyn would not return, she said in a post that it was “unfortunate to not be given the opportunity to continue with the show” but that she was “happy” for her family.
The episode then revealed how the surprise had come together, as Kris told the cameras, “About an hour ago, I called Caitlyn and I said, ‘What are you doing?’ And of course, she said, ‘I’m eating dinner and watching Fox News.’ I said, ‘Of course you are.’ And, I said, ‘Would you like to come say goodbye to El Dorado Meadow with us and be with your kids?’ And she said, ‘I’m on my way.’ ”
“It’s only right for Caitlyn to be here tonight too, because she actually was part of all those amazing memories,” Kris said in a confessional. “It wasn’t just my house – it was our house.”
Most of the family had shocked looks on their faces when Caitlyn walked in — her daughters, Kylie and Kendall, also didn’t seem to get a heads-up — and Caitlyn seemed to be a bit hesitant as she walked into the house and joined everyone around the dining room table.
At one point, she joked that she had bought the $13.5 million home, which Kris put on the market in February, and Kris, Kim and Kourtney all seemed excited about the idea, but Caitlyn revealed she was kidding — and that she couldn’t afford the house.
In a confessional, Kendall, 29, was candid about where things stand with her and Caitlyn. “I definitely wasn’t expecting my dad to be here, just knowing the relationship that my mom has with my dad — not that it’s bad, it’s just distant,” she said.
“My mom’s had a hard time inviting my dad to some of our family gatherings in the past, so it makes me happy that Kylie and I didn’t have to ask for my dad to be invited and that my mom just thought it was a good idea.”
Kendall also admitted that she has to “compartmentalize my relationship with my dad,” because even though they “have a good relationship,” she can get “frustrated with her with certain things cause we just have completely different views on things.”
“But, other than that, I always wanna include her. I know she doesn’t have a lot outside of her family, and I know that she gets lonely … At the end of the day, it’s really nice to have her around.”
When the family sat down to dinner — with Khloé, Rob and Corey Gamble too — Caitlyn and Kris engaged in a casual conversation about the recent L.A. wildfires, and Caitlyn said she would never abandon her house, even if fires got near, and would instead defend the property on her own, which Kris said wasn’t surprising to hear.
In a confessional, Khloé applauded her mom for the “growth” she was showing by inviting Caitlyn over. “They didn’t have a good relationship for years after their divorce. Things were said. Weaponizing some situations to make my mom look a way that just wasn’t truthful. And the fact that my mom can put all of that behind her — or on pause for a second — it’s really, really big of her.”
Kris and Caitlyn divorced in 2014 after 22 years of marriage, and the following year, Caitlyn came out as a transgender woman.
After dinner, the family took a photo together one last time in the house’s iconic entryway, and Caitlyn joined in, too, though Kendall had to remind her to put her phone away and smile for the photo. Several members of the family’s next generation were there too and posed for the snap, including Reign, Saint, True, Chicago, Dream, Psalm and Rocky.
Caitlyn then headed back to her home in Malibu, and shared brief hugs with Kendall and Kylie, 28, before saying goodbye to Kim and Kris.
She and Kris shared a hug and Kris thanked Caitlyn for coming on such short notice, calling it a “really great surprise for the kids,” and Caitlyn replied, “You owe me one! No, just kidding.”
In a confessional, Kris summed up how she felt after the reunion: “What a great night. I’m so happy that we were all here and we were able to say goodbye to a house that brought us so much joy and love; blood, sweat and tears; highs and lows — and that Caitlyn was there. It’s been a really long road, but it was Caitlyn’s house too.”
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New episodes of The Kardashians drop Thursdays on Hulu.
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