I'm A Celebrity star Caitlyn Jenner built up 'tough attitude' after brother's tragic death

21 November 2019, 10:51 | Updated: 21 November 2019, 11:13

Caitlyn Jenner's brother died when she was 26. Picture: ITV

I’m A Celebrity star Caitlyn Jenner lost her brother in a car accident more than 50 years ago.

Caitlyn Jenner has already become a firm favourite on I’m A Celebrity this year.

But it turns out the reality star suffered a family tragedy when she was just 26, as her younger brother Burt was killed at 18-years-old in a Porsche she’d lent him.

While Caitlyn, 70, is yet to speak out on the tragic accident with her campmates, her pal has reportedly said she’s determined to use her strength in the Jungle.

A source told The Mirror: "Caitlyn has already had to deal with so much in her lifetime.

“Losing her brother was a really painful time in her life but she got through it.

“She is made of tough stuff and she’s bringing that attitude to the jungle with her.”

This comes after the reality star detailed her brother’s tragic death in her autobiography 'The Secrets Of My Life'.

After she returned home to Connecticut to give a speech about winning at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Caitlyn let her younger brother drive a car she’d been lent by a dealership to get some petrol.

Burt decided to take his 16-year-old friend, Judith Hutchings, with him on the short drive, with Caitlyn explaining: “Burt has taken the Porsche on Old Canton Road.

Caitlyn opened up about her family in her autobiography. Picture: PA Images

“Because the road was old, it was narrow and curvy. There was a rise, and Burt took it too fast. The Porsche went airborne and then crooked.

“It hit a tree and then a rock wall of sizable boulders. Hutchings was flung from the car and killed instantly. Burt suffered critical injuries.”

When things failed to improve, the Jenner family were then left with the heartbreaking decision to turn off Burt’s life-support.

Caitlyn went on to say he “struggled with guilt”, writing: “What if I had never taken the car from the dealer? What if I had never lent it to Burt? Why did he pick up an innocent young woman who had her whole life in front of her? Why did he drive so carelessly?”

She added: “But I have to move on because so much of my life has been about moving on – get over it, get through it, don’t show outward emotion because it only leads to inner emotions, and I must keep those in check. The floodgates open and I am done.”