Sex reassignment patients must follow a specific protocol—they have to commit to living with their new gender, take hormones and get psychological clearance—before undergoing surgery, Lea T says. "When you start the hormones, it's really, really hard. It's not a game. Your body starts to change in a short time," Lea T says. "The skin is changed a lot. The cheek bones grow. The hair, it becomes super long. The hips become bigger. I love the smell I have now, it's much more delicate. I think it's weird seeing my breasts and penis."

Lea T says she's especially nervous about the pain—both physical and emotional—she'll feel when she finally gets her sex reassignment surgery. "Of course physically, this operation is a big operation," she says. "But at the same time, I think it's mental too. To think like, 'Wow, I cut part of my body.'"

Watch Lea T reveal the trade secrets of a transgendered supermodel.