Bruce Jenner’s 20/20 interview with Diane Sawyer about his struggle with his gender identity has hopefully opened more than a few eyes and minds.
Now, his ex-wife Linda Thompson has also opened up about her life and marriage with the Olympic athlete.
Thompson wrote a compelling piece about her relationship with Bruce on the Huffington Post and said that she was sharing her experience as a means to “enlighten and inform — to lend a modicum of comfort and support for all those disenfranchised, struggling, discriminated-against, searching souls.”
But she clarified that her experience is “commensurately uniquely my own” and Bruce’s story and struggles are his own.
The former actress wrote about how she first saw Bruce while watching the Montreal Summer Olympics in 1976 with then boyfriend Elvis Presley and they both agreed that he was “handsome.”
Jenner’s ex-wife opens up: How living and loving Bruce Jenner changed my life forever http://t.co/908sBBZ6Rj pic.twitter.com/CQI24eEY46
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) April 26, 2015
Flash forward to three years later when she met Bruce at the Playboy Mansion during a charity event. He was already separated from his first wife at the time and Thompson described him as “sweet, shy and very gentlemanly.” The two were married in 1981 and had two sons together, Brandon and Brody. Thompson recalled that those were the happiest years of her life – until he confessed that he identified as a woman and wanted to move forward with the process of becoming a woman.
Thompson admitted to her own ignorance about being transgender and responded by insisting they go to therapy to see if they could “fix” things. They separated after 6 months of therapy.
Linda Thompson opens up on Bruce Jenner http://t.co/gmTHpcLIpD pic.twitter.com/DHyMyqSKNb
— KETV NewsWatch 7 (@KETV) April 27, 2015
Despite being “heartbroken,” the 64-year-old Thompson wrote she was determined to support her ex-husband and her two sons. Despite waiving alimony and child support, she continued to have an “open door” policy to give Bruce a chance to visit his sons whenever he wanted.
The powerful piece underlines Thompson’s devotion to her family and her support for her ex-husband. She said that she has already forgiven Bruce for those years and commends him for finally living his life the way he needs to.