“I am heartbroken to announce [that] my mom passed away yesterday morning, peacefully,” Caitlyn Jenner shared to social media on Apr. 21. Caitlyn, 73, shared her message along with photos of her late mother, Esther Jenner, including a photo from Esther’s 95th birthday party. “Losing a mother is unique in the sense that she is the only person that loved me my entire life,” wrote the Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum. “I will miss her tremendously. She was a few weeks shy of 97 and lived a full life. Love you, Mom.”
Friends, family, and fans filled the comments section with condolences. “So sorry for your loss, sending loads of love,” wrote actress Jacqueline Osborne. Social media personality and entrepreneur Tatiana Victoria Riley left a string of heart emojis. “My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family @caitlynjenner. May she rest peacefully,” wrote one fan. “My heart and prayers are with you and your family at this time. From what I have viewed of your mother, she seemed like an incredibly selfless, kind, understanding, loving mom,” added another.
Esther Jenner was a loving mother and grandmother, even though she wasn’t always a fan of the family business. “I think that Kardashian show is the most senseless thing I have ever watched,” she said in 2022 after Caitlyn was excluded from the Hulu series, The Kardashians. “But my two granddaughters, Kendall and Kylie, created it, and I love them dearly,” Esther told The Sun. “They’re my blood. And my four step-grandchildren — Kim, Kourtney, Khloé, and Robert — feel like they’re mine, too.”
Caitlyn said she was happy for the family to start a new reality television series without her, and Esther backed up that statement. “I don’t know if [Caitlyn] even cares. It’s something we haven’t even discussed,” she said.
Esther said she feared for her daughter’s life. Caitlyn ran in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election, only to get 15 of the vote. “I think Caitlyn is putting [her] life on the line,” said Esther. “I fear for [her]. [Caitlyn] is a very strong person. [She] has a lot of courage.”
“We’re very close. We probably talk three or four times a week. I have to live with whatever decisions [she] makes and support [her] in whatever [she] chooses to do. I’m not in control,” Esther added. “But I think [she] would be putting [herself] in a dangerous position [if she runs for office again], so I’m not too sure.”
At the time of the statement, a rep for Caitlyn told Page Six that her mother “is senile. She lives alone in a home. Caitlyn has 24/7 armed security at all times and has no fear for her safety. All comments related to the Kardashian and Jenner children are that woman’s own opinion and were hurtful for Caitlyn to read about in the press.”