After growing up in a strict Mormon home, Alyssa Grenfell shares how she found her personal style and reclaimed her body in her twenties.
The now 31-year-old woman regularly shares insights from her past Mormon life on social media, documenting her transition from a teacher at a Mormon Missionary Training Center to her “shine” as an ex-Mormon.
Alyssa, along with her husband, left the Mormon Church and moved from Utah to New York City in 2017, embarking on a journey to discover what her life outside of the church could be like.
In a now-viral video shared on TikTok, Alyssa, a mother of two and teacher, showed off her complete transformation in a 60-second clip.
After growing up in a strict Mormon household, Alyssa Grenfell shares how she found her personal style and reclaimed her body in her twenties. She in the photo of her with her husband at 23 years old.
The now 31-year-old woman regularly shares details of her past Mormon life on social media. Pictured is Alyssa teaching at a Mormon Missionary Training Center in Utah.
The clip began with a photo from her engagement when she was in her early 20s, showing her and her husband dressed modestly and smiling at the camera.
“I got married in the temple when I was 23 and these are my very Mormon engagement photos,” she explained in the clip, which has been viewed more than 500,000 times.
Alyssa was a teacher at the Missionary Training Center (MCT) at the time she got married, and she pointed out the underwear she would wear under all her clothes.
As she and her husband grew older, they began trying things outside of what was allowed in the Mormon church, such as tasting coffee, and Alyssa experimented with not wearing underwear under her clothes.
“About a year and a half after I got married, I tried coffee for the first time and I’m not wearing any clothes in this photo,” she shared, along with a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt and holding a cup of coffee.
In her next picture, she’s wearing a graduation cap and gown, admitting that she was “so worried” that the wind would make it open a little and people would see that she’s not wearing my clothes.
As Alyssa, who has also written a book called How to Leave the Mormon Church, ages, her fashion choices become more daring; as she begins to show more skin and “gets her body back.”
“My first time wearing a tank top in public, which is really fun because it’s like a tank top,” she recalled, showing a photo of a striped tank top with her hair down.
Alyssa was seen wearing a graduation cap and gown, admitting that she was “so worried” that the wind would make it open a little and people would see that I wasn’t wearing my clothes.
As Alyssa, who also wrote a book called How to Leave the Mormon Church, ages, her fashion choices become more daring as she begins to show more skin and “get her body back.”
“Six years after leaving the church, I got a nose ring, my ears were pierced and I have three tattoos,” he explained, along with a photo of himself dated 2021.
“Honestly, there’s something so beautiful to me about looking at all these photos and seeing this transformation… of discovering who I am outside of Mormonism,” Alyssa shared.
“I felt so scandalous.”
“With this shirt, combined with the coffee, this is basically like my ex-Mormon nudes,” he joked.
Four years after her initial “crisis of faith,” Alyssa decided to get a tattoo and the following year she felt “I’m finally ready to buy a bikini.”
She also sheepishly added that taking mushrooms “really helped” her work through the deconstruction process and think about who she wanted to be.
After leaving the church. Alyssa started wearing shorts and tank tops and overall she felt more comfortable in her skin.
“Six years after I left the church, I got a nose ring, my ears were pierced and I have three tattoos,” he explained, along with a photo of himself dated 2021.
Four years after her initial “crisis of faith,” Alyssa decided to get a tattoo and the following year she felt “finally ready to buy a bikini.”
‘[Probably] It seems small to most people, but I love the feeling of having my body back.’
Alyssa then shared some current photos of herself, wearing a cropped shirt, bare arms, and drinking alcohol.
Although she admits it took her “years” to feel comfortable in her own body, she now loves looking back on her transformation.
“Honestly, there’s something very beautiful to me about looking at all these photos and seeing this transformation, the self-discovery that has taken place in my life, of discovering who I am outside of Mormonism,” he shared.
‘I hope that every ex-Mormon finds as much joy in this journey as I do.”