Bruce Jenner Comes Out As Transgender

Olympic hero Bruce Jenner has come out as transgender.

The 65-year-old father of six made the revelation during a special with Diane Sawyer on ABC's "20/20" Friday night.

"I'm me. I'm a person. This is who I am. I'm not stuck in anybody's body. My brain is much more female than male," she said.

"For all intents and purposes, I am a woman. People look at me differently. They see you as this macho male, but my heart and my soul and everything that I do in life it is part of me, that female side is part of me. That's who I am. I was not genetically born that way ... as of now I have all the male parts and all that kind of stuff so in a lot of ways we're different, but we still identify as female. And that's very hard for Bruce Jenner today. Why? I don't want to disappoint people."

"I look at guys and I know 'He's comfortable in his own skin.' Wouldn't that be a nice way to go through life?"

Jenner on thought of suicide: "I thought about it, but then I thought 'I can't do that. I want to see how this story ends.'"

In 1976 Jenner won the hearts of America when she won the gold medal in the decathlon at the Olympics.

More recently, Jenner has been a central figure on the family's E! reality show since its premiere in 2007.

In 2013, Bruce and Kris announced they were separating after 22 years of marriage.

In light of Jenner's announcement, GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis issued this statement:

"Today, millions of people learned that someone they know is transgender."

"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."

The response from the Twitterverse was immediate:

#BruceJenner we learn from you to be courageous, funny and to be our authentic self. With love and Go For It!
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) April 25, 2015

Worlds Greatest Athlete ❤️❤️❤️
— Khloé (@khloekardashian) April 25, 2015

#BruceJennerABC Now that is bravery.❤️
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) April 25, 2015

(via Huffington Post)