(Ben Hassett/Glamour/Instagram)
Caitlyn Jenner was officially named a Glamour “Woman Of The Year” on Thursday, eight days after Gossip Cop exclusively reported she would be one of the 2015 honorees.
The magazine has deemed Jenner the “transgender champion,” and in the accompanying interview, she reflects on her gender identity struggle and her decision to become a woman. Hiding out in her Malibu home before she officially came out, Jenner remembers, “There I was, in this beautiful beach house, all by my little lonesome, right back where I started, dealing with the same issues I had when I was 10 years old.”
And when paparazzi caught her at a doctor’s office, suicidal thoughts followed. “Go in there, no more pain,” she recalls contemplating, until she had a change of heart. “I thought, ‘OK, you transition, big deal! You are still alive. You have to make your life interesting.'”
“I started thinking, ‘Maybe this is why God put me on earth,'” reveals Jenner. “This issue has been swept under the rug for so long. I need to tell this story on the highest level you can possibly do it. Not just for me but for this entire community.”
After she went public, Jenner says her daughters and stepdaughters were all just as emotional about the mass support as she was, and tells the magazine, “They were all sitting there with their phones, going, ‘Oh my God! Look what Lady Gaga said!'” Kylie herself even says to the outlet, “We were all holding hands and crying.”
But Jenner is also well-aware that she embarked on this journey from a place of privilege. “I’m the exception to the rule, not the rule, okay? I get that,” she says, adding, “You have to be able to listen.” But the former Olympian is pretty pleased with the way things have gone so far.
“I am just excited about the future for the first time in a long, long time,” she shares. “And that is a nice feeling to have… To be honest with you, if the worst thing in the world that happens to you is you are trans, you’ve got it made.” Adds Kylie, “She’s happier, so I’m happier, and we connect more.”
And what would be Jenner’s “words to live by”? “Gamble, cheat, lie, and steal,” she says. “Let me explain: Gamble for your best shot in life — dare to take risks. Cheat those who would have you be less than you are. Lie in the arms of those you love. And finally, steal every moment of happiness.”
As Gossip Cop also correctly reported more than a week ago, Reese Witherspoon is one of the other big “Woman of the Year” honorees, and graces the cover of the magazine’s December issue, which will hit newsstands on November 10 10. Victoria Beckham, Misty Copeland and the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team are among the other women getting recognition. All will be celebrated at an awards ceremony in New York on November 9.
How were the honorees like Jenner chosen? According to the magazine, “Glamour’s Women of the Year Advisory Board, comprised of past honorees, helped select the 2015 Women of the Year.” And it’s a particularly big achievement to be part of this year’s crop, as this is the milestone 25th edition. TELL US: What do you think of Jenner’s interview?
