kris jenner
Kris Jenner appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in February 2017 Warner Bros

She's known as the tough-as-nails 'momager' on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, but Kris Jenner opened up about the heartbreak of daughter Kim Kardashian's Paris robbery on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Ahead of the 13th season of KUWTK, Jenner, 61, discussed the traumatising October 2016 incident for the first time while appearing on the talk show on 20 February.

The mother-of-six spoke of how she handled the impact after the harrowing incident which involved her second-born daughter being held at gunpoint while being tied up and robbed of more than $10m in jewellery.

In previewing the emotional aftermath of what fans will see on KUWTK, she said: "We just started seeing some of the stuff that had come out of those days. Nobody can even get through the first five minutes without being hysterical. I get choked up just thinking about it and talking about it.

"I was watching it and I was bawling when I saw it. I just saw some of it, and I couldn't even watch the whole thing. I mean, it was so upsetting. It was such an upsetting time when something so awful happened to somebody that you love so much."

But while it was difficult to re-live her daughter's emotional trauma by on their own show, Jenner revealed it was therapeutic for the family as a whole. In teasers for the upcoming season, Kim reflects on the horror of fearing for her life. After the incident, the social media-crazed TV personality was noticeably absent online for several months.

Jenner continued: "It's changed the way we live our lives and just the way that we take care of our kids and my grandchildren."

Kim, in tears, tells her family in the new episodes: "[I thought] they're going to shoot me in the back. There's no way out. It makes me so upset to think about it... It makes me so scared to think about it".

Production on the E! reality series was temporarily put on hold in the aftermath, with a spokesperson for the family show stating at the time: "Kim's well-being is our core focus right now."

Ten suspects have since been charged in association with the crime, and Kardashian testified in a New York City courthouse earlier this month.

Jenner stated that her daughter decided to openly discuss the robbery to "bring some awareness".

Keeping Up With the Kardashians returns on E! on Sunday 5 March 5 at 9 pm ET.

Kim Kardashian Paris robbery jewels
The alleged ringleader of the gang behind Kim Kardashian's Paris robbery claims her stolen jewellery was melted down Reuters/Kim Kardashian Instagram