I had the chance to read the full Vanity Fair cover story in which we get to meet Caitlyn Jenner and hear her story. Author Buzz Bissinger did a masterful job. He didn’t gloss over the difficult or uncomfortable parts of Jenner’s past (namely her poor relationship with her four oldest children) and wrote a profile that was balanced, realistic and yet understanding toward Caitlyn and the transgender community. It’s a great read and I highly recommend it. I’m excerpting a couple of main points below, but there’s so much more in the article to discuss. Please note that the article alternates between using male and female pronouns depending on whether they’re referring to Bruce’s past or Caitlyn’s future. I do the same in the conclusion below.

Cailtyn admits that Bruce told lies
Bruce Jenner, she said, was “always telling lies.” Caitlyn Jenner, she said, “doesn’t have any lies.” Bruce Jenner caused hurt to four children who loved and idolized him before he gave his love and total attention to another family. Caitlyn Jenner has the possibility to make it right and close the fissure as much as she can. “I have high hopes that Caitlyn is a better person than Bruce,” said his oldest son, Burt, now 36. “I’m very much looking forward to that.”

Caitlyn’s four children from her first two marriages won’t do the docuseries
The last thing the Jenner kids want to do is reverse the rebuilding of the relationship. But despite numerous entreaties from their father as well as the head of E! programming, the Jenner children refused to participate, forgoing financial gain and exposure in the process. At first their decision did not seem to register with Caitlyn. She kept hoping they could be persuaded… when she realized the decision was final, she became increasingly frustrated and on one occasion hurled profanities. She told me she felt “terribly disappointed and terribly hurt”

Kris claims that Bruce didn’t tell her how serious the issue was
The issue of how much Bruce Jenner told Kris of his gender-identity issues is a matter of dispute: neither side wants to appear rancorous, but the two sides agree on virtually nothing. Breast growth as the result of hormones is irreversible. Jenner insists that he was a “good solid B cup” when he met Kris. She said it was comparable to a “little bit of a man boob situation” but that there was “no B cup going on…

“When I met Bruce, he told me that he had done hormones back in the early 90s. So, what he was telling me happened a decade earlier, and he never really explained it… there wasn’t a gender issue… Somebody mentioned that [he] at one point in his life liked too dress up.”

Jenner is emphatic that he told Kris he had taken hormones in the late 1980s up untl the year they met, and was equally emphatic in saying there were other side effects besides breast growth. He finds it implausible for her to suggest she was not aware of his gender struggle. But he does concede that “probably a mistake I made was maybe not having her understand – not the severity of it but that this is a condition you cannot get away from. From this standpoint maybe I blew it a way a little bit, sort of ‘This is what I do.’” He said he did cross-dress in front of her. But ultimately, he said, she set down rules: he could cross-dress when he was traveling on his own but not at home.

Kris said he never cross-dressed in front of her, the only evidence “a few times I would see a suitcase or things lying around the house.” She also said she never set down any rules.

[From Vanity Fair, print edition, July, 2016]

The article also confirms that Kris had a role in separating Bruce from his oldest children during the early years of their marriage, noting that “The children maintain that Kris essentially turned on them.” After Bruce’s second wife, Linda Thompson (mother to Brandon and Brody), took him to court for child support, Kris wasn’t as willing to “integrate the families,” Caitlyn admits. Whatever Kris did, Bruce went along with it, so it’s not all on Kris. Bruce could have maintained relationships with the oldest children if that was a priority.

Caitlyn also claims that Kris treated her badly during their marriage, especially after KUWTK started airing. “A lot of times she wasn’t very nice… I got mistreated. She controlled the money.” Kris claims that Bruce was angry, withdrawn and passive aggressive. “He was miserable… All I was doing was working very hard for my family so that we could all have a wonderful future, and he was pissed off.” Kris also says that Bruce never told her anything about being transgender until their divorce was finalized. “It was like the most passive-aggressive thing I think I’ve ever experienced.”

As for what Kris knew and when, I buy that she wasn’t fully aware of Bruce’s gender identity issues. As we saw on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Bruce was cagey about telling his family what was going on and downplayed most everything. I do think Caitlyn is telling the truth about the fact that Kris set rules for when and where Bruce could cross dress. As Caitlyn states in the article, Bruce was “always telling lies” but Caitlyn “doesn’t have any lies.” It must be a relief for her to finally be honest with herself and the world.

Here are some more photos from the editorial by Annie Leibowitz, which is striking. Caitlyn has been compared to Jessica Lange, who has called the comparisons “wonderful.” I can see it.

Lady in red! Here’s another pic of #CaitlynJenner from @VanityFair #CallMeCaitlyn pic.twitter.com/iGQwhRz52c

— David Caplan (@DavidCaplanNYC) June 1, 2015

Never be afraid to show the world who you truly are. #CaitlynJenner pic.twitter.com/EtYjqHYP4K

— A (@shaymitchnyc) June 2, 2015

Can we just… ???????????????????? #CaitlynJenner pic.twitter.com/WHGdVJa6iC

— Ginger W Lavender (@GingerWLavender) June 1, 2015