'I've gone back to being a child': Husband and father-of-seven, 52, leaves his wife and kids to live as a transgender SIX-YEAR-OLD girl named Stefonknee

• e-mail

A Canadian man who was married, with seven kids, has left his family in order to fulfill his true identity - as a six-year-old girl.

In an emotional video with gay news site The Daily Xtra in collaboration with The Transgender Project, Stefonknee (pronounced ‘Stef-on-knee’) Wolscht, 52, of Toronto, says she realized she was transgender - rather that simply a cross-dresser - at age 46, and split from her wife, Maria, after she told her husband to 'stop being trans or leave'.

Now, Stefonknee lives with friends who she cans her 'adoptive mommy and daddy' as a six-year-old girl, dressing in children's clothing and spending her time playing and coloring with her adoptive parents' grandchildren.

Scroll down for video 

Big change: Stefoknee Wolscht, 52, of Canada, left her husband and seven kids to fulfill her true identity as a six-year-old girl. She previously lived as a mechanic and went by the name Paul 

Before: Paul was married to his wife and was a father to their seven kids for 23 years, until at age 46, he realized he was a woman. His wife told him to 'stop being trans or leave', so he left 

Stefonknee says her 'adoptive' family, which consists of an older couple and their children and young grandchildren, are completely accepting of her identifying as a little girl.

She says she's living as a six-year-old girl because it's something she could never do when was in grade school.

'I can’t deny I was married. I can’t deny I have children,' she says in the video. 'But I’ve moved forward now and I’ve gone back to being a child. I don’t want to be an adult right now.' 

Stefonknee further adds: 'I have a mommy and a daddy - an adopted mommy and daddy - who are totally comfortable with me being a little girl. And their children and their grandchildren are totally supportive.'

She says she previously lived as an eight-year-old girl, until the couple's granddaughter asked her to be the younger sister instead. 

'A year ago I was eight and she was seven. And she said to me: "I want you to be the little sister, so I’ll be nine." I said: "Well, I don’t mind going to six." So I’ve been six ever since.'

In the winter, Stefonknee earns money by plowing snow, and when she's at home with her adoptive family, they color and 'do kid's stuff'. 

'It’s called play therapy. No medication, no suicide thoughts. And I just get to play,' she shares. 

Challenges: Paul, left, realized he was actually a woman, and changed his named to Stefoknee (pronounced ‘Stef-on-knee’), right. But she lost her job as a mechanic because she was trans, and soon became homeless 

Happy: Today, Stefonknee lives as a six-year-old girl with an adoptive 'mommy and daddy' (pictured) in Canada. She detailed her life's struggles in a video for Canada's Transgender Project 

Embracing herself: She loves wearing make-up and little girl's clothing, but works in the winter plowing snow

Bedtime: Stefonknee, who says she wants to live as a little girl because she was never able to when she was a child, sleeps with numerous dolls at night 

In the video, Stefonknee talks of her reaction to her wife's ultimatum to 'stop being trans or leave', sharing: 'To me, "stop being trans" isn’t something I could do. It would be like telling me to stop being six-foot-two or leave.'

Stefonknee, who previously went by the name Paul, worked as a mechanic and was a dedicated member of the Catholic church, says she was trans before she got married to Maria after high school, but wasn't educated about what that meant, and was terrified of being different.

In a previous episode of The Transgender Project, Stefonknee said she first realized she was different from other boys as early as age six, because she was always jealous of the girls at school who got to wear new dresses on picture day.

Stefonknee, who then went by her given name Paul, began dating a woman named Maria in high school, and they later married. Maria was surprised by Paul's love of women's clothing, but was initially supportive, and even bought him an outfit. 

'The next day, she bought me a black pleated skirt, a white blouse, and a grey camisole... so then I had an ally.'

But while Maria was supportive of her husband's cross-dressing, she did not accept him as transgender.

At age 44, after attending some transgender workshops in Toronto, he sat their their seven kids down and told them he was a woman.

Past life: Stefonknee (as Paul, right) was a member of the Catholic church before his transition. Above, he's seen with a nun, his wife, and three of their seven kids 

Daily life: Stefonknee posted a selfie in front of a urinal to raise awareness about the necessity of unisex bathrooms in public establishments 

Style: She loves dressing as a schoolgirl, and revealed in the video that she previously lived as an eight-year-old girl, until her adoptive sister asked her to be six

Christmastime: Stefonknee can be seen cuddling a doll and sucks on a pacifier near a Christmas tree

Thumbs up: She also spends much of her time raising awareness for the transgender community and attending rallies

He asked the kids to write him letters about their feelings, and read a letter from his son Peter aloud on The Transgender Project.

'Dear Dad, I feel it is very imbarassing [sic] to see you walk around like that. But if you rilly [sic] want it, it will be OK with me. Love, Peter,' read Stefonknee in the clip.

In letters from his other kids, they expressed that they were 'grossed out' about seeing him wearing dresses, and that he acted like their mother rather than their father.  

'I was a trans parent for 23 years. It scared me, because I didn't know how to not be trans,' Stefonknee shared in the clip with The Daily Xtra.

But her wife refused to accept her, so she moved to Toronto to live as woman and began hormone replacement therapy in 2009.

Months later, she became suicidal and was hospitalized for a month after taking part Toronto's first transgender rally.

She lost her job as a mechanic due to the fact that she was transgender, and was forced to sleep in a homeless shelter for months. 

'I basically just lost all my customers. I [was] sleeping in a bed in a homeless shelter,' she revealed, adding that coming out as transgender was 'the hardest thing I've ever had to do.'

In 2012, her daughter Amanda invited her to her wedding, but only on the condition that she dress like a man and sit in the back of the church, not addressing any members of the family.

Heartbreaking: When Stefonknee first told her kids she was a woman, she asked them to write her letters about how they felt. Her son Peter told her he felt 'embarrassed', but wanted her to be happy 

Sad: Another one of her children said: 'I feel kinda weird that you wear dresses?' in his note 

Enjoying her life: Stefonknee attends the World Poutine Eating Competition in Canada wearing pigtails and hoop earrings 

That day, she attempted suicide for the second time. 

Fortunately, Stefonknee has now found acceptance at Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, where much of the congregation is made up of LGBT members who have formed a special support group just for her.

Asked why she wanted to share her story, Stefonknee shares on The Daily Xtra: 'I paid a pretty heavy price for transitioning. I've already lost everything, and everything has happened. I'm gonna be me, and I'm gonna show other people that it's OK to be feminine for a guy.' 

She went on to reveal that a lot of unexpected people have come out to her as transgender since then, saying: 'When you see a guy that's 300 pounds with a goatee that pulls in on a Harley and is going through my closet and saying: "Can I wear this dress? Can I kiss you while I'm wearing the dress?" You don't expect it.'  

She also spends much of her time raising awareness for the transgender community and attending rallies. 

'It's a fresh start,' says Stefonknee, adding: 'We have a quasi-family that we're creating. And I'm allowed to be exactly who I am.'