Frank Tavares was born a man in the Dominican Republic, but for 22 years of his life, he lived as Sister Margarita in two different convents, posing as one of the nuns there without anyone suspecting anything.

The unusual story of “nun-man”, as Frank came to be known following his shocking reveal, began when he was only four years old. He and his family were involved in a serious car accident that claimed the lives of his parents. His grandparents were too poor and ill-equipped to deal with a child, so he was placed in the care of nuns at a Dominican convent. Tavares recalls that, as a young boy, his genitals were so small that even he had trouble finding them, which is probably why he was raised as a girl at the convent. He wore girl’s clothes, adopted the habits of the nuns there, and became fully engaged in the daily activities of his new home. It wasn’t until age seven that he realized he was a man, but he continued living as a girl, to avoid being cast out.

When he was seven, Frank underwent a full health checkup and the doctor confirmed that he was a boy and that he shouldn’t worry, as his genitalia would catch up with his age once he reached his teenage years. As the years passed, he became more self-aware of his true gender, even though he did everything in his power to conceal it.

“I never bathed or undressed in front of them,” Sister Margarita recalled in an interview. “I would go for a quick dip, wear boxer-style panties, fake my period, and wear oversized dresses.”

It was during his teenage years that he started feeling attracted to some of the other novice nuns at the convent, and after leaving one of them pregnant, he had no choice but to transfer to another convent where he again gave in to temptation. It was here that he met Silvia, the love of his life, with whom he had a whirlwind romance. She too became pregnant and urged him to leave the convent and start a family, but the weight of deception toward the nuns who had been kind to him was too much to bear, so he refused.

In the end, one of the teachers at the convent discovered a letter from Sister Margarita to Silvia in which the former’s true gender was confirmed. In 1979, when Frank’s cover was blown, he had no choice but to leave the convent and start living as a man, after 22 years of posing as a nun. Having trained as a seamstress at the convent, he quickly found a job as a tailor, a trade he still practices today, at age 73.

 

His love story with Silvia ended when she left for the United States after he decided to end their relationship so he could keep his sanity. He never met their child, but he still considers the woman the love of his life.

The incredible story of the Dominican man who lived as a nun for 22 years was featured on multiple television shows and was the subject of at least two books – ‘The Undressed Nun’ and ‘Crossroads in the Shadows’.