In a piece for the Huffington Post, Bruce Jenner's ex-wife Linda Thompson detailed her history with the Olympic gold-medalist turned reality show star following his announcement that he identifies as a woman.
The article was originally published on Friday night, shortly after Jenner's interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC News aired.
Bruce told me that he identified as a woman. Not understanding exactly what he meant, I questioned him. "What do you mean you identify as a woman?" I asked. "What does that mean?" He replied that it meant that for as long as he could remember, he had looked in the mirror and seen a masculine image staring back at him where there should have been a feminine reflection. Bruce lamented, "I have lived in the wrong skin, the wrong body, my whole life. It is a living hell for me, and I really feel that I would like to move forward with the process of becoming a woman, the woman I have always been inside."
Thompson then goes in to how that announcement aided in deteriorating their marriage and how Jenner began taking female hormones. She also says that it's a relief no longer having to hold his secret and asks people to be tolerant and accepting of Jenner's announcement.
Her call for compassion mirrors the thoughts of several celebrities, including some of Jenner's family members, who have come out in support of him following his announcement: