The Ellen DeGeneres Show returns for its new season on September 8, featuring Caitlyn Jenner in her first-ever talk show appearance. In a series of newly released preview clips, the audience is thrilled to hear that Jenner feels "fabulous" about the debut.
In the clips, DeGeneres delves right into a serious discussion with Jenner about the former Olympian's very public gender transition. Jenner reveals that she actually planned to transition in the '80s, before she turned 40, and started taking hormones to begin the process. "I got to 39, and just couldn't do it," she says. "I just couldn't go any farther."
Jenner met her former wife, Kris Kardashian, a few months later and, as we know, the two married and had daughters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner. Jenner explains that after having raised a family, she found herself back in the same position, hiding alone in her house and wondering what to do with the knowledge that she wanted to live life as a woman. "I had a lot of conversations with a lot of people," Jenner says. "All of my family members...[and] with my pastor. And now is the time."
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DeGeneres goes on to ask whether Caitlyn misses Bruce, to which Jenner replies, "Absolutely no. [...] Because as a woman, I can do all the fun stuff anyway, I can still play golf, go race cars."
On the subject of family, Jenner says her grandkids have met Caitlyn, and that they "get it." She confesses that her mother and Kris Jenner were the most difficult people to tell about her transition. "She's 89 years old," Jenner says of her mother. "I don't think she really even understood it at the beginning."
Many have wondered about Jenner's conservative politics, after the star made some controversial statements on I Am Cait, and Jenner addresses that with Ellen as well. Candidly, she reveals that 15 years ago, when marriage equality became a big discussion, she was not in favor of it initially, but that over time her thinking on the matter has changed. DeGeneres challenges her, saying it seems like she's still not totally on board with marriage equality. This prompts Jenner to reiterate, "I don't ever want to stand in front of anybody's happiness."
This naturally flows into a conversation about whether Jenner plans to date men or women, but Jenner sidesteps giving a clear answer. When DeGeneres explicitly asks whether Jenner will date her friend Candis Cayne, Jenner simply laughs and says, "Actually, Candis is backstage," without offering a definitive reply.