Caitlyn Jenner's Mom Reacts to Vanity Fair Cover: 'I Still Have to Call Him Bruce'

Though the Internet welcomed Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce Jenner, with open arms Monday, after she revealed her identity in the form of a Vanity Fair cover, the Olympic champion's mother told Access Hollywood she will still call her child Bruce.

"I still have to call him Bruce. His father and I named him that," Esther Jenner, 88, said. "It's going to be a struggle for me to get used to the change, but happily so... I'm very happy for him -- or her!"

Nevertheless, Esther Jenner called her child "beautiful" and said that she met Caitlyn before the magazine's July issue was tweeted online on Jan 1.

"I was there last week, well actually, I got home a week and a half ago. And I met Caitlyn. She is... so much more at ease," she told Access Hollywood.

Access Hollywood's Stephanie Bauer also asked Esther Jenner if Caitlyn Jenner, 65, reminded her of anyone in the Jenner family.

"You know who she reminds me of, my granddaughter Samantha. There is a lot of Sam!" she said, explaining that Samantha is Caitlyn Jenner's niece.

In February Esther Jenner, who resides in Idaho, opened up about her child's gender journey and spoke with the Associated Press. The AP asked if she spoke with Caitlyn Jenner about her transition.

"It was brief and I said I was proud of him and that I'll always love him," Esther said. "I never thought I could be more proud of Bruce when he reached his goal in 1976, but I'm more proud of him now. It takes a lot of courage to do what he's doing."

She added: "He said, 'Mom, I'm still the same person.' He said, 'I'm still going to race cars, I'm still going to fly airplanes and I'm going to get my helicopter license.'"

Esther Jenner added that Caitlyn Jenner's announcement was a "shock" and "hard to wrap your mind around it." Nevertheless, she added, "The family is close and very supportive of Bruce and we're supportive of each other."