Kris Jenner says she 'beat herself up' after close friend Nicole Brown's death

The reality television matriarch and her former husband Robert Kardashian were friends of Nicole Brown and O.J. Simpson

Jenner said her 'universe changed' after Nicole's death (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Kris Jenner has recalled how she “beat herself up” when she learned of Nicole Brown's calls to 911 shortly before her murder.

Brown, 35, was killed in her California home along with friend Ronald Goldman in 1994. Her ex-husband O.J. Simpson, a professional football player, was found not guilty after what was dubbed the “trial of the century” in 1995.

Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a civil lawsuit brought by the families of the deceased. He is currently serving a prison sentence for separate crimes which he was found guilty of in 2007.

Speaking to People ahead of a drama series documenting the trial, Jenner said both Brown and Simpson were “two of the best friends I ever had in my entire life”.

Jenner, the mother and manager of Kardashian siblings including Kim, Kendall and Khloe, was close friends with both Brown and Simpson. Her former husband Robert Kardashian, who died of cancer in 2003, was a defence attorney for Simpson during the infamous trial.

“I went to bed one night and I woke up the next morning and my entire universe had changed… They were my family. O.J. was like my big brother. So I not only mourned the loss of Nicole, but I mourned the loss of O.J. and that relationship.”

During the trial, a 911 call made by Brown asking for police to visit as Simpson had stormed the property was played, which Jenner, 60, said after hearing she beat herself up about.

“I saw all the pictures and the police reports and I heard tapes of Nicole calling 911… That was stuff I didn’t know anything about. I beat myself up because I felt like I wasn’t paying attention. Like, how did I miss this? But that’s typical in an abusive relationship – that the woman doesn’t speak out about how she’s being treated.

Nicole Brown (FILES/AFP/Getty Images)

“My heart breaks because of all the pain and suffering she went through,” Jenner said, “I wish I had noticed the signs. She was fighting for her life many days I’m sure. I try to pay attention to things more now. I follow my intuition.”

Jenner said she hopes Brown’s legacy can protect other women.

“Domestic violence is a real tragedy in our lives. [Nicole’s death] could have been prevented… And if Nicole’s legacy can be protecting other women, then that would be a really positive thing.”