Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner address divorce

In the last 24 hours, Kim Kardashian and her momager Kris Jenner mounted a double-pronged attack in defense of Kardashian's divorce from Kris Humphries after only 72 days of marriage. Leading the charge, Kardashian released a statement on her blog yesterday. She defended her feelings for Humphries, her decision to film her wedding for Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and essentially blamed the pressures of the spotlight for her own bad decisions, saying, "I got caught up with the hoopla… and didn't want to disappoint a lot of people." Then, in a statement about as rich as her $20 million wedding, she asks, "I hope you respect my courage."

This morning, Jenner sat down with the Today show's Ann Curry. The marriage "certainly wasn't a sham, certainly wasn't for TV," she insisted. She also denied reports that the family made money by selling the TV rights to the ceremony, claiming Kardashian and Humphries footed the bill for the nuptials, which many suspect were fueled by celebrity discounts and freebies. Said Jenner, "[A]t the end of the day, [money from selling wedding photos] went towards the wedding and Kim had to pay a great deal." Watch Jenner's interview and read more of Kardashian's statement after the jump.

"First and foremost, I married for love," Kardashian wrote yesterday. "I can't believe I even have to defend this." She called herself a "hopeless romantic" and said her desire to fall in love and have babies — which has been one of the major plotlines of Kardashians' six seasons — clouded her judgment. "I felt like I was on a fast roller coaster and couldn't get off when now I know I probably should have," she admitted. That said, she affirmed, "I accept full responsibility for my actions and decisions, and for taking everyone on this journey with me. It just didn't turn out to be the fairy tale I had so badly hoped for."

Kardashian firmly denied making money from her vow exchange. "[I]t makes me so sad to have to even clarify this," she said, adding, "I'll be donating the money for all the gifts to the Dream Foundation." On Today, Jenner backed up her daughter's claims. "It makes me feel sad that some people are reacting that way…. It saddens all of us." She reiterated that Kardashian would be donating the cost of the gifts to charity to "make that right because she feels really bad about that."

Jenner did acknowledge the couple were paid ("Less than a million, more than half a million dollars") for selling their wedding album to the tabloids, as well as for filming the ceremony for Keeping Up. Still, "I have no regrets," she said. "This is what we do. We have people who have invested in our lives from day one, season one, and we enjoy what we do." Beyond that, she refused to speak for her daughter about why the marriage failed, saying, "That's something that Kim is going to have to address [when she returns from Australia]. I'm not here to be her personal spokesperson." (In fact, Jenner was on Today to promote her new memoir.)

In the closing words of her statement, Kardashian laid it on pretty thick with a reference to her dead father. "I'm sorry if I have hurt anyone," she admitted, "but my dad always told me to follow my heart and I believe now that I really am."

What do you think, PopWatchers? Do you think Kardashian and Jenner's statements are from the heart, or do you think they're simply orchestrating another PR maneuver? Do you respect Kardashian's "courage"? Do you believe she really paid for her wedding? Do these ongoing developments make you more interested in 'keeping up' with the Kardashians, or are you ready to wash your hands of this family?