EXCLUSIVE: Mormon father of three reveals how coming out as a transgender woman made her marriage to her high school sweetheart even STRONGER — despite pushing them both to leave the ultra-strict religion

A former Mormon couple have told how they kept their marriage together after the man came out as a transgender woman – despite admitting they lost several friends in the strict religion as a result.

Amanda and Shaye Scott, from Utah, both grew up in Mormon homes and began their romance when they were just fifteen years old. While their commitment to each other has only grown stronger since Shaye, 39, came out as transgender, they admit her decision pushed them to leave the ultra-strict religion, revealing how it triggered a “faith deconstruction.”

Although happily married and a mother of three, Shaye, 39, said she had known she was transgender since she was three.

However, she had never been able to properly express how she really felt until she came across the phrase “gender dysphoria” online in 2019.

She knew immediately that it described exactly how she felt, despite her hesitation about how it would affect her three children and her wife.

However, knowing she couldn't hide her true self, she chose to be honest with her wife, and was overjoyed when Amanda expressed her full support, with the couple deciding to pursue their marriage in a new way.

Shaye adopted she and her pronouns and started hormone replacement therapy – HRT – to help alleviate her gender dysphoria.

“After I came out in 2019, it started with doing nothing and eventually I decided to do hormone replacement therapy, but I wasn't planning on going through a social transition,” Shaye recalls.

“But during therapy and talking to Amanda, we decided to make an appointment with a surgeon a year later.”

In 2023, Shaye decided to socially transition and undergo facial feminization surgery.

Amanda, who works as an English teacher, added that she finds Shaye's presentation as a woman “beautiful,” noting that she has become “more fluid” in her attractions since her partner came out.

“It's been a journey of discovery for both of us,” she admitted.

“The narrative around having a husband comes out this way: People think it's deceptive, but often people just don't have the language to express themselves,” she explained.

Shaye agreed, saying they've grown closer as a couple despite it being such a “raw and difficult” situation — but says it was never a question of whether they would stay together.

“We've known each other since we were kids and she's my person,” Shaye said lovingly.

“I wouldn't want to do anything that would hurt her and vice versa,” she continued. “One of the most important things for me during this whole process was the emphasis on attraction: Would Amanda still be attracted to me?”

Although the couple's relationship has gone from strength to strength, they admit that Shaye's arrival prompted them to reconsider their relationship with the Mormon Church, with the couple ultimately deciding to leave the religion.

“Accepting the fact that we are transgender has initiated a deconstruction of faith for us,” they explained.

The couple eventually decided to tell their children about Shaye's transition, and Amanda says their oldest started using Shaye's pronouns without being asked.

“Our daughter started using she/her pronouns without asking,” Amanda said proudly. “Our two youngest, our boys, had a blast with it. And they're so comfortable talking about it because they're so comfortable with Shaye.”

“The kids were great.” Amanda gushed. “They love people for people's sake and we've tried to be very sensitive to their feelings.”

The couple says they think they have been “so strong” because they were confident that their family would be okay.

'All [the kids] I've become a more authentic person, they haven't lost anything,” Shaye shared, adding that their therapist said their children are fine as long as they are told what's going on.

However, their Mormon background means they have lost friends along the way, but say their families have mostly supported them.

“The tenets of these religions are about doing good for others, but for whatever policy reasons that doesn't always apply to everyone,” Amanda reflected sadly.

'There are also so many religious people who chose the people first.

'That is the essence of what is sometimes unfortunate about religion.

“Goodness comes in a box and looks a certain way.

“Change is hard for people and it's been a process, but I think we're in a pretty good place right now with our families,” Amanda says.

“It was challenging for them at first, but as time has gone on, they have become more loving and accepting,” Shayne added.

Amanda also acknowledged that not everyone could stay together like she and Shaye did, but she loves her regardless of her gender.

“It doesn't work that way for everyone and that's completely acceptable, but for me, Shaye is my person and every marriage has challenges, but when you have that love and commitment to each other, it works,” Amanda said simply.