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Kris Jenner’s mother, Mary Jo Campbell, who the Kardashians refer to as “MJ”, has been appearing on Keeping Up With the Kardashians for years. Just a few years ago, Jenner bought MJ a home near her, so that her mom could be closer to the family. But, someone who fans don’t often hear about is Jenner’s dad Robert Houghton. Get to know more about Jenner’s parents in our rundown below.
Kris Jenner’s Father Robert Houghton
Before Kris Jenner became famous, she took on her family’s name and was known as Kristen Mary Houghton, according to Nicki Swift. Her mother’s first name was her middle name and her last name was her father’s. Jenner’s dad, Houghton, was born on May 12, 1931, in San Diego, California, but he died in his 40s, in March of 1975. Nicki Swift reported that Jenner’s parents got divorced when she was just 7 years old. She and her little sister, Karen, were they raised by their mother.
Rumors about Jenner’s dad were that he was an alcoholic, who died in a car crash, as an alleged former girlfriend of his, Leslie Johnson Leech, told Star Magazine, “I broke up with him in late 1974 because of his drinking. We were at his parents’ house and he just exploded at them. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back …” Houghton then reportedly met Vicky Thomsen and the two got engaged. Thomsen said that after a night of margaritas in Mexico, she and Houghton got in the car and had planned to get married the next day. Thomsen said, “The plan was to hit the next big town and get married there in the morning. I was looking at the stars and mentioned to Bob how tired I was. It was 9:20 pm. Then I suddenly heard metal smashing and I woke up crushed under the dashboard.”
Houghton’s middle name is True, which is the name of Jenner’s grandchild, Khloe Kardashian’s daughter, True Thompson.
Kris Jenner’s Mother MJ
After marrying and divorcing Kris Jenner’s father, her mom, MJ, met and married a businessman named Harry Shannon. Jenner has credited Shannon as being a solid father figure in her life. On Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Jenner said, “We had a stepdad as our father figure who we loved so much.” Cosmopolitan reported that Shannon died in a car accident in 2003, after about four decades with MJ.
But, Shannon and Houghton weren’t the only husbands MJ had. In fact, the Daily Mail reported that MJ revealed to granddaughter Kim Kardashian, “I was married for two months at 18. Right out of high school I was given an engagement ring. Guy I had been going with for four years. And then I just thought ‘this really isn’t that much fun’ so I got out of it. Once you got married you realized ‘Oh, what did I do?’ You know? And you try to stay in there for a month or so.”
For those who have been fans of the Kardashians since the beginning of their reality careers, they remember the family’s DASH stores. This business apparently runs in the family, as MJ has had a store in San Diego called Shannon & Company, which has been there for decades, according to Cosmopolitan. Jenner once recalled to Haute Living, “My mom has a children’s clothing store—for 45 years. It’s called Shannon & Company, and I used to work there when I was young. My dad was in a car accident in 2003, and when he was in the hospital, my mom wanted to close the store, but I said I would run it for her.”
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