Kris Jenner "couldn't breathe" when she was in court to hear O.J. Simpson found not guilty of murdering her best friend.

Kris Jenner

Kris Jenner

The showbiz matriarch has recalled the "excruciating" pain she went through while sitting through the infamous trial following the death of her good pal and the American footballer's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson.

To make matters even more complex, Kris' ex-husband Robert Kardashian was a member of O.J's defence team during the eight-month trial in 1995.

She said: "We didn't know what the verdict was going to be.

"I couldn't breathe. When the [not guilty verdict] was read, everybody was stunned. I was just numb. And seeing the photos of [O.J. and his defence team] celebrating, it was hard."

The 60-year-old star sat alongside Nicole's family during the "very stressful" trial, but wasn't in court all the time because she was pregnant with daughter Kendall, now 20.

She said: "It was horrible. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that she had been killed in such a horrific, violent way.

"It was excruciating to see how painful it was for the families to hear them go over and over all the details of what had happened.

"I just wanted it to be over so we could all try to pick up the pieces. But it went on for so long. It was very stressful."

The 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' star - who picked Nicole's name as Kendall's middle name in tribute to her - says she will never get over losing her best friend.

She added to PEOPLE: "Losing her was something that I can never quite get over.

"But I will always have such love in my heart for Nicole. She is a part of my life that will be there forever."