Former Mormon, 31, reveals incredible ‘glow-up’ after leaving devout church – as she opens up about wearing a bikini for the first time at AGE 28 and how she learned to ‘reclaim’ her body
After growing up in a strict Mormon household, Alyssa Grenfell shares how she found her personal style and reclaimed her body in her late 20s.
The now 31-year-old regularly shares tidbits from her former Mormon life on social media, documenting her transition from a teacher at a Mormon Missionary Training Center to her glow-up as an ex-Mormon.
Alyssa left the Mormon Church with her husband and moved from Utah to New York City in 2017, where she embarked on a journey to discover what her life outside the church could be like.
In a now-viral video shared to 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 family, Alyssa Grenfell shares how she found her personal style and reclaimed her body in her late 20s. Pictured with her husband at the age of 23
The now 31-year-old regularly shares tidbits from her former Mormon life on social media. The photo shows Alyssa teaching at a Mormon Missionary Training Center in Utah
The clip started with a photo from her engagement in her early 20s, showing her and her husband dressed modestly and smiling at the camera.
“I got married in the temple at age 23, and these are my very Mormon engagement photos,” she explained in the video, which has been viewed more than 500,000 times.
Alyssa was a teacher at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) when she got married, and pointed out the undergarments she would wear under all her clothes.
As she and her husband got older, they started trying things outside the limits of the Mormon church, like trying coffee and Alyssa experimenting 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 in this photo I’m not wearing any clothes,” she shared, along with a photo of her wearing a T-shirt and holding a coffee cup.
In her next photo, she’s wearing a graduation cap and gown, and admits that she was “so scared” that the wind would make it fly open a little and people would see that she’s not wearing my clothes.
As Alyssa, who has also written a book titled How To Leave The Mormon Church, gets older, her fashion choices become bolder; as she begins to show more skin and ‘reclaim her body’.
“My first time wearing a tank top in public, which is so funny because it kind of looks like a sleeveless T-shirt,” she reminisced, showing a photo of a striped tank top with her hair down.
Alyssa was seen wearing a graduation cap and gown and admitted that she was “so scared” that the wind would make it fly open a little and that people would see that she wasn’t wearing my clothes
As Alyssa, who has also written a book called How To Leave The Mormon Church, gets older, her fashion choices become bolder as she begins to show more skin and “reclaim her body.”
“Six years after I left the church, I got my nose ring, I got my ears pierced, and I have three tattoos,” she explained, along with a photo of her from 2021.
“Honestly, there’s something really beautiful about looking through all these photos and seeing this transformation… figuring out who I am outside of Mormonism,” Alyssa shared.
“I felt so shameful.”
“With this shirt, combined with the coffee, this actually looks like my ex-Mormon nudes,” she joked.
Four years after her first “crisis of faith,” Alyssa decided to get a tattoo, and the following year she felt ‘Finally ready to buy a bikini.’
She also shyly added that taking mushrooms “really helped” her go through the deconstruction process and think about who she wanted to be.
After leaving the church. Alyssa started wearing shorts and tank tops and generally felt more comfortable in her own skin.
“Six years after I left the church, I got my nose ring, I got my ears pierced, and I have three tattoos,” she explained, along with a photo of her from 2021.
Four years after her first “crisis of faith,” Alyssa decided to get a tattoo, and the following year she “finally felt ready to buy a bikini”
“It (probably) seems small to most people, but I love the feeling of reclaiming my body.”
Alyssa then shared some current photos of herself wearing a short shirt, bare arms and drinking alcohol.
Although she admits it took her ‘years’ to feel as comfortable in her own body, she now looks back fondly on her transformation.
“Honestly, there’s something really beautiful about looking through all these photos and seeing this transformation, the self-discovery that has happened in my life, of finding out who I am outside of Mormonism,” she shared.
“I hope that every ex-Mormon finds as much joy in this journey as I do.’