Caitlyn Jenner thinks Bruce Jenner "still lives inside" her.
The former Olympian admits it was "hard" to give up her male persona and while she may have undergone a gender transition two years ago, she insists she hasn’t changed that much.
She said: "It was hard giving old Bruce up, in a lot of ways. He still lives inside me.
"I still do a lot of the things old Bruce used to do. I still fly airplanes and go race cars once in a while. I can have the best of both worlds.
"I can live my life authentically, and still do all the fun stuff!"
And the 67-year-old reality star can’t understand why many in the trans community avoid reference to their previous identities because she "liked Bruce" and doesn’t want to throw away all her past accomplishments.
She told The Guardian newspaper: "I had a life for 65 years. OK?
"I liked Bruce. He was a good person. He did a lot in his life. Oh, ‘he didn’t even exist’. Yes he did exist! He worked his butt off. He won the [Olympic] Games. He raised amazing kids.
"He did a lot of very, very good things and it’s not like I just want to throw that away."
Caitlyn – who has six children from three marriages – decided to transition in order to see what the "woman inside" her could do with her life after Bruce accomplished "everything".
She said: "My intentions were number one, to calm my soul. To deal with this issue and be myself. This woman had lived inside me for 65 years, it’s time for her to live!
"Let’s give her a shot and see what she could do. Bruce has done everything! Had all his children, won the Games.
"This woman – it’s her turn! And that platform I have: can I make a difference in the world?"
Before meeting her third wife, Kris Jenner, Caitlyn had intended to transition by the age of 40, but ultimately decided against it and admitted she "didn’t have the guts" to go through with such a big change at the time.
She said: "This is the deal: it’s very simple. It wasn’t time. The issue wasn’t where it is today. I had just a few minor things done to make me feel better about myself, and I thought I’m going to do this before my 40s – I’m not going to be an old chick. I don’t want to be an old chick. And I got to 39 and I couldn’t do it. For six years I had isolated myself in a house, didn’t date, didn’t go out. And I’m thinking, boy, maybe I should get back into the game. I’m just sitting here in this house, rotting away. I just don’t have the guts to do it. I married Kris with great intentions."
Caitlyn Jenner: Bruce is still inside
