Identical twins often share a very close bond but for the twins in this story, it runs perhaps even deeper. They both made the transition from female to male within two years of each other and now they are talking openly about it.

Kasey and Shea Opilla, who are 20 years old, were marked as female on their birth certificates when they were born. As they continued to grow up, however, they struggled with their gender and felt as if they were both males stuck in a woman’s body. They had a very close bond that many identical twins share.

Eventually, Kasey came out as a transgender and within two years, Shea was in the process of making the transition as well.

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They began to experience their identity crisis when they were 11 years old. Kasey and Shea, who are from San Jose, California were not looking forward to puberty. They were beginning to have their menstrual cycles and were developing as females. They didn’t realize at first that they were transgender so in 2013, they came out as gay. They had the support of their family and friends but it was not enough.

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Kasey and Shea discussed their gender issues in one-on-one therapy without the other realizing they were going through such a struggle. After they had educated themselves on modern gender issues and had gone through counseling, they both came to the conclusion that they were transgender. Kasey did so publicly in 2015 and Shea in 2017.

Kasey commented on their experiences in an interview, saying: “Throughout our journey, we have made sure we’re both there for all those big moments, like coming out to the rest of the family. That’s when you need comfort the most, and to have your whole self with you. As a twin, you’re never alone throughout your entire life – and we certainly weren’t going to let each other take on the hardest times alone.”

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He added: “When I first started taking hormones, I was still getting misgendered a lot and referred to as a female, which was very frustrating. At the time, as Shea wasn’t out, I didn’t know anybody else who was trans, so I did feel like I was going through it alone. My one regret is not reaching out to more people in the community then, as that would’ve helped – to talk to people who understood.”

Meanwhile, Shea stated: “When Kasey came out, I remember thinking how incredibly brave he was – but there was also that hint of jealousy that he could be his true self, whereas I wasn’t quite ready. Because we’d always identified as ‘the twins,’ in the two years that Kasey was out as transgender and I wasn’t, it felt almost strange that we weren’t identical anymore.”

He continued: “He’d been so depressed for so long, I was really happy he was finally out and able to be himself. I thought he was incredibly brave and wanted to support him, but knew I also had some thinking to do about how I was going to come out.”

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The twins are hoping that other individuals in their situation will be inspired by their story.