Bruce, 65, has confirmed he is transitioning gender to become a woman in a two hour TV interview special that aired on ABC News in the United States, and Sky News in Australia.
Speaking to Diane Sawyer in the highly-anticipated interview, Bruce said: “Yes. For all intents and purposes, I am a woman.”
“My brain is much more female than it is male.”
Bruce elaborated: “I’m emerging as myself. Isn’t that great?”
“The female part of me is who I am. I identify as female, and that’s very hard for Bruce Jenner to say, because I don’t want to disappoint people.”
Bruce also revealed: “I’ve always been very confused about my gender identity.”
It seems now that the former Olympic champion can now live the live that he, or rather, she, was always meant to.
“Bruce is not a lie. She is not a lie,” Bruce told Diane.
“My whole life has been getting me ready for this. It’s not just the last few years where they’ve been treating me as a joke,” Bruce said.
Bruce’s stepchildren Kim Kardashian and Rob Kardashian took to Twitter after the revealing interview to share their moving words in support of Bruce. For Rob, it’s the first time he’s broken his social media silence in months.
Bruce also admitted that he has been “running away from all of this stuff.”
“It’s going to be an emotional roller coaster but I’m going to make it through. I’ve been thinking about this day forever and what I should do with my life, how do I tell my story, how do I tell people what I’ve been through. I’ve been thinking about this day forever.”
The former Kardashian patriarch, who split from Kris Jenner last year, has been the subject of intense media scrutiny on the subject for quite some time. Bruce also admitted that it’s a process he’s been going through for years, even undergoing plastic surgery and hormone therapy in the 1980s to begin the transitioning process, but then abandoning it a few years later.
Bruce says that he struggled to deal with all of the emotional difficulties, and at times even contemplated suicide.
Diane Sawyer also confirmed in a voice-over that this is the last interview Jenner will ever do as “Bruce” so that going forward Bruce can transition into the new identity.
Bruce also reiterated that his gender identity was separate from his sexuality: “I’m not gay,” he says. “I am, as far as I know, heterosexual. I’ve never been with a guy.”
As to what pronouns Bruce prefers? He or she?
Bruce said,”Pronouns are very important in the transgender community.”
Bruce said for the moment he was most comfortable using “him” or “he”.
Earlier this week it seemed that Bruce was pipped at the post by US tabloid The New York Daily News when they published pictures of what appeared to be Bruce dressed in a long striped black and white dress in the backyard of his Malibu home.
During the revelatory TV special with Sawyer, Bruce showed off his dresses that filled his new closet and said that his new house will have a “glam room”.
Bruce’s kids have thrown their support behind their dad, posting social media pics posing with him and Brody, Brandon, Burt and Casey all appeared in the TV special too
Bruce also opened up about his marriage to Kardashian “mumager” Kris Jenner, and how his secret affected their marriage.
Revealing that he first tried to open up to her when they first met 25 years ago.
“Okay, you like to wear womens’ clothes. When you love someone,” Kris said to him.
Bruce admitted he would dress up in front of her, and she would say: “Yes, yes, she said ‘okay, you gonna change now?'”
Bruce praised her though for trying to be supportive: “Kris is a good woman, I got no complaints with her. Honestly, if she had been really good with it, understanding, we’d still be together.”
Kris meanwhile made no comment on the special, in spite of Bruce’s previous wives, Chrystie and Linda both making supportive comments, along with Bruce’s children.
When celebrity blogger Perez Hilton posted a comment on this, Kris snapped back the following response: “f**k you Perez no one asked me to comment ….and I’m sitting with Bruce now watching this show so let’s keep it real…LOL….”
Kris Jenner denied that she refused to comment, responding to the claims from celebrity blogger Perez Hilton with some strong language, claiming she was sitting next to Bruce as they watched.
Kris joined various high profile celebrities tweeted their support during and in the lead up to, Bruce’s revelatory interview.
Bruce said that his children were the most important thing to him amid what can be an extremely difficult phase of transition.
“I can’t let myself hurt them. They’re the only ones I’m concerned with,” the former Olympic champion explained.
Bruce’s children Brody, Brandon, Burt and Casey all appeared in the TV special too and his step-children, the Kardashian girls, have previously spoken of their support for Bruce, without giving away any details.
“I think everyone goes through things in life, and I think that story and what Bruce is going through, I think he’ll share whenever the time is right,” Kardashian told ET in January. “I feel like that’s his journey to talk about.”
Speaking about his kids, Bruce revealed: “Khloe’s had the toughest time with it because she’s had a lot of losses in her life. She lost her father at a young age and Lamar had his issues.”
As to who has been the most accepting? Bruce says “Kimberley”. The reality star even told Bruce: “Girl you have to rock it baby. You have to look really good.”
While all of the kids cried and got incredibly emotional when Bruce told them, Kim was apparently the first to know, after catching Bruce wearing women’s clothing.
“It was like a big secret in the family that we never talked about again.” Bruce said.
Once Kim asked again, Bruce says “I told her all my issues, and then, after it was over with, I felt much better.”
And who is responsible for turning Kim around? Her rapper hubby Kanye West.
Kanye apparently told Kim: “I can be married to the most beautiful woman in the world, I can have the most beautiful daughter in the world, but I’m nothing if I can’t be me.”
Bruce’s family posted their support for their dad after the interview
Bruce also says that appearing on Keeping up with the Kardashians so publicly, put intense pressure on him as underneath it all, he was keeping this secret.
“The entire run, I kept thinking to myself, ‘Oh my God, this whole thing, the one real, true story in the family was the one I was hiding and nobody knew about it.’ The one thing that could make a difference in people’s lives was right here in my soul and I could not tell that story.”
Now that he has “come out” though will he undergo gender reassignment surgery?
Bruce said “As Khloe would say — If you’re living your life, you gotta have the vajayjay.”
The reality star revealed he has already has two referrals for gender reassignment, but says there’s no rush for it.
“Sexual reassignment surgery is down the line.”
Bruce said “All I want to do is blend in.”
For the moment though, Bruce is keeping his new name to himself in the hopes that the media attention will die down somewhat first.
Bruce’s incredibly public “coming out” marks a landmark moment for the transgender community, as never before has anyone had to make the transition so publicly or under such intense media scrutiny.
Already, Bruce has been inundated with praise from equality groups, the GLBTQI community and fellow transgender celebrities for his braveness. Celebrities have been tweeting their support, and Gay icon Elton John recently said. “”It’s an Incredibly Brave Thing to Do, Especially When You’re Older”.
GLAAD issued a statement as the interview went to air, saying “Today, millions of people learned that someone they know is transgender,”GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said.
“By sharing this story, Bruce Jenner has shined a light on what it means to be transgender and live authentically in the face of unimaginable public scrutiny. Though Jenner’s journey is one that is deeply personal, it is also one that will impact and inspire countless people around the world.”
Speaking about religion and his beliefs, Bruce also said that he was ready to take on transgender acceptance as his cause: “I had this feeling, kind of a revelation, that maybe this is my cause in life. This is why God put me on this Earth, do deal with this issue. That was a very powerful moment. It certainly gave me a lot of courage.”
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Bruce Jenner’s changing appearance has been the subject of much media scrutiny for quite some time.
