--- description: Pulitzer-Prize winner Amy Ellis Nutt's chronicles Jonas and Nicole's story in her latest book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of a an American Family title: See How Twin Boys Became Brother and Sister image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd9221ca26c55b7f/698868710a4a2287779c6942/nicole-maines.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [gender](/tag/gender/) ## gender Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See How Twin Boys Became Brother and Sister by [ashley Ross](/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 15, 2015 3:06 PM CUT  Jonas Maines, left, and his transgender sister, Nicole Maines, stand outside the Penobscot Judicial Center, in Bangor, Maine, June 12, 2013. Jonas Maines, left, and his transgender sister, Nicole Maines, stand outside the Penobscot Judicial Center, in Bangor, Maine, June 12, 2013.Robert F. Bukaty—AP by [ashley Ross](/author/ashley-ross/) ## ashley Ross Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 15, 2015 3:06 PM CUT Twins Jonas and Nicole Maines were born as identical twin boys. But when Nicole—born as Wyatt—was 2 years old, she knew that though she was born with the male gender, [she was truly a female.](http://www.people.com/article/meet-identical-twins-jonas-nicole-maines-family-transgender-story "undefined") “Whenever we were playing dress up she always wanted to be the girl,” Jonas remembers in an interview with PEOPLE. “She always played with the dolls.” Jonas always went along with it. “I never questioned it,” he said. Pulitzer-Prize winner Amy Ellis Nutt’s chronicles Jonas and Nicole’s story in her latest book[ _Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of a an American Family_](http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Nicole-Transformation-American-Family/dp/0812995414 "undefined")_,_ out October 20. Read more at [People.com](http://www.people.com/article/meet-identical-twins-jonas-nicole-maines-family-transgender-story "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4074959/see-how-twin-boys-became-brother-and-sister/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4074959/see-how-twin-boys-became-brother-and-sister/"},"headline":"See How Twin Boys Became Brother and Sister","datePublished":"2015-10-15T15:06:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:49:55.044Z","description":"One twin is transgender","url":"https://time.com/4074959/see-how-twin-boys-became-brother-and-sister/","keywords":["gender"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd9221ca26c55b7f/698868710a4a2287779c6942/nicole-maines.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"ashley Ross","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-ross/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcd9221ca26c55b7f/698868710a4a2287779c6942/nicole-maines.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jonas Maines, Nicole Maines","caption":"Jonas Maines, Nicole Maines","creditText":"Robert F. Bukaty—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/gender/","name":"gender"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4074959/see-how-twin-boys-became-brother-and-sister/","name":"See How Twin Boys Became Brother and Sister"}}]}] ```