KELLIHER – Brice and Pat Budd got married in 1991. They lived on the Budd family farm north of Kelliher, Saskatchewan, where they raised two sons, but Pat didn’t know Brice had been keeping a huge secret from her – and everyone else.
For 45 years, Brice’s true identity was buried.
“I was different and different wasn’t accepted, so I never shared it,” explained Brice, now Laura. “No one knew. not my parents, not my siblings, not my friends. I didn’t share it with anyone in the world.”
Get daily National news
Keeping up the lie took a harsh toll.
“It kind of turns your insides into hamburger. It just chops you up inside. I was to the point where I didn’t know who I was anymore,” she said.
The first person in on the secret was Pat.
“I didn’t know anything and I beat myself up about it for a long time. I hated myself because I was one of those wives that lived with a man for 20 years and never knew him,” said Pat.
Despite going two years without barely speaking to one another, they stayed together through Laura’s transition and plan to renew their vows next summer.
“Piece by piece we built our love back to where it was, and to new heights that we never thought it would be,” said Laura.
“Honestly, as long as she was happy, I didn’t care,” said the couple’s youngest son, Jake. “She’s a normal person and a normal member of society.”
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.