No loose lips on Bruce Jenner's first wife

FOR MOST OF US, the news that former Olympic champ Bruce Jenner wants to live the rest of his life as a woman is of fairly recent vintage. Not so for Chrystie Crownover, who has held such knowledge for decades.

Between 1972 and 1981, Crownover was also known as Mrs. Bruce Jenner. Yesterday, she told George Stephanopoulos, of ABC's "Good Morning America," about learning her then-hubby's deepest secret.

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

It was particularly hard to process, Crownover added, because "he was such a manly man. He never indicated anything feminine in his demeanor."

She also made it a point to insist Jenner's gender-bending desires were not the cause of their breakup.

As for why she kept mum about her ex-husband's trans-Jenner aspirations, Crownover explained:

"The fact that he did share it with me that first year, I felt like it was actually a gift that he gave to me, that he trusted me with something so intimate. I felt like I was in charge of something that I had to hold private and dear and quiet. It involves a tremendous amount of trust on both parts."

Jenner and Crownover have four adult children, all of whom appear to support their dad fully. Although all have admitted being estranged from Jenner during their childhoods, things are far more copacetic these days.

"In seeing him come out to me and explain his true self, I was more proud right then to carry the last name Jenner," Brandon said in the TV segment.

"The one thing that I think we have gained that means more to us than anything is the honesty," added another son, Burt. "I personally hope that this journey leads to the place that he wants it to."

While Jenner's first family was being grilled on "Good Morning America," his stepdaughter was sharing face time with Matt Lauer, of NBC's "Today."

And while Kim Kardashian (or, as TempTatt thinks of her, The Most Important Woman in the World) did voice her support for Jenner, she also supplied a little Too Much Information about her recent attempts to procreate with hubs Kanye West.

"They say if you've been trying for a year, then you usually need a little bit of help," Her Everythingness admitted to Lauer. "I had a tough delivery, so I understand what my challenges are. I mean, I'm seeing the best doctors, and I'm trying to do everything I can to make that happen."

She noted that some folks have recommended that she and Yeezus look into a surrogate to provide daughter North with a sibling. But that, she said, isn't on the agenda quite yet.

"I would like to hold out a little bit longer, and still try," she offered. "I still have hope, so I'm just going to keep on trying."

The co-writer of Courtney Love's forthcoming autobiography has a couple hundred thousand bones to pick with the Widow (Kurt) Cobain.

The sentinels of truth at TMZ report that Anthony Bozza is suing the former Hole frontwoman, claiming that he was paid only $100,000 of the $300,000 that Love promised him for his collaborative efforts. (He's also looking to recoup 10G he claims he laid out in unreimbursed expenses and interest on the amount.)

Bozza, who has co-written with the likes of comedians Tracy Morgan and Artie Lange, is also saying that Love would be incommunicado for extended periods of time, which led to his falling behind on the job at hand.

It seems that Bozza was never officially terminated by Love. He says she sent him a text message informing him that she had hired a new co-writer and is "fixing" the book.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.