Bruce Jenner's First Wife Chrystie Scott on His '20/20' Interview: 'I Think It Was Cathartic for Him'

Bruce Jenner's first wife, Chrystie Scott, has revealed the moment he opened up to her about his gender identity – calling it a "shock."

Scott, the mother of Jenner's two oldest children, was the first person the Olympic champion confided in, he admitted in his 20/20 interview on Friday night.

In the interview, Jenner told Diane Sawyer, "For all intents and purposes, I am a woman." In the days following the interview, which drew nearly 17 million viewers to ABC, Jenner's famous family members have spoken candidly with the media regarding his transition.

On Monday, Scott – who was married to Jenner from 1972 to 1981 – opened up to George Stephanopoulos during Good Morning America's 7 a.m. hour: "I can't remember the exact words because it was such a shock to me, but he opened up his heart and confessed, and he had to share this deep, dark secret," Scott told Stephanopoulos about her ex-husband's confession from their first year of marriage.

"He told me he wanted to be a woman, and understandably, I didn't know what to say."

Scott, who is the mother of Jenner's children Burt and Cassandra Jenner, said that she was honored the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star chose to share his "deepest, darkest secret" with her, but she still struggled to process what it meant.

"It's so hard to wrap your head around it, particularly because he was such a manly man," said Scott. "He never indicated anything feminine in his demeanor."

Despite Jenner's admission so early in their marriage, Scott insisted that it didn't "threaten" their relationship. "It wasn't really a problem," she said.

Scott was the second of Bruce's wives to speak with media following his interview. Linda Thompson, who was married to Jenner from 1981 to 1984, released an op-ed for the Huffington Post about her own experience shortly after the interview aired on Friday night.

Jenner, 65, watched the interview air live with many of his family members, including Scott, who said the star was "tearful at times."

"It broke my heart. I reached over and tried to give him a little comfort," she told GMA. "It broke my heart for him. It was sad." Despite the tears, Scott said, "I think it was cathartic for him."

"I'm sure there are plenty of people that don't have the courage to come out at all, ever, and they live private, dark, tortured lives, and that's tragic," said Scott. "That's just tragic and the fact that he did share it with me that first year, I feel like that was actually a gift he gave to me to trust me with something so intimate."

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