David Hasselhoff claims he has known Caitlyn Jenner wanted to be a woman for 30 years.

The 'Baywatch' actor has been friends with the former Olympian - who was known as Bruce Jenner before her transition - for several decades and was baffled when he learned his pal had begun taking female hormones in the 1980s.

He said: ''I knew Bruce 30 years ago when he had his first operation.

''He's always been a 'guy' but when he had that first surgery, it was kind of the talk between all of us. We were like, 'What?' We couldn't figure it out, because he was such a good-looking guy. We were like, 'Why would he do something like that?' Now we know.''

And David is pleased the 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' star has been able to ''address'' the situation and live comfortably as herself now.

He added to heat magazine: ''I'm glad to see that he's finally addressed it... I think it's cool.''

Before unveiling her female identity, Caitlyn admitted she had already begun transitioning from male to female when she first started dating Kris Jenner, 59, and stopped taking the hormones when their relationship became serious.

She said: ''I kind of downplayed it. I feel like in a lot of ways, when you loves somebody, you have a tendency, you don't want to hurt them. I probably was not as good at saying, 'This is really down deep in my soul and I don't know if I can go any farther like this.'

''It was tough on her. You see your husband, I get that. I understand... Kris is a good woman. I've got no complaints with her. She's a good person.''