Grace has suffered from depression, attributing her 'first memorable bout' to feelings of gender dysphoria after her first sexual relationship. Grace also regularly skipped school, eventually dropping out of high school. Grace was arrested for possession of marijuana at 14 and went on to struggle with addiction for years. Constantly bullied at school, Grace was drinking alcohol and taking drugs by age 13, substances which included pot, LSD, and cocaine. In contrast to her time in Italy, Grace has said that moving to Florida was a difficult adjustment.
When she was 12 years old, Grace's parents had an acrimonious divorce, which led to Grace and her brother moving with their mom from Naples, Italy – where their father remained – to Naples, Florida to live with their maternal grandmother. Grace initially took guitar lessons from an army officer's wife, but ended up teaching herself how to play. When she was 8 years old while living in Italy, Grace bought her first guitar from Sears mail order with money saved from mowing lawns. : 4 The family moved frequently between military bases due to their father's military career, living briefly in Fort Hood, Texas Pennsylvania Ohio Germany and at a NATO post in Naples, Italy, during the Gulf War. Grace has a brother named Mark, who is six years younger. Grace was born Thomas James Gabel in Fort Benning, Georgia, the eldest child of United States Army Major Thomas Gabel and Bonnie Gabel (née Grace).
