I’ve Been With My Wife 2 Decades; We’ve Even Survived Her Gender Transition

Reddit

A couple recently took to Reddit to share how they met in high school as a man and woman and are still together 20 years later, even after one of them underwent a gender transition. The now-viral Reddit thread has received 66,000 upvotes. Marie and Tashina explained that they met when Marie was 15 and Tashina 16, back in 2003. At the time, Marie was living as a male and was named Martin, reported Newsweek.

Despite being thrown out by their parents in 2009, after Marie officially came out, the couple married in 2011 and are still together 12 years later. Reddit users responded with encouragement and support and offered their congratulations in a post in the Made Me Smile Reddit forum.

The couple got together in high school and met as male and female, though one of them later transitioned.

Marie shared that she knew she was transgender when she was 10 years old, after seeing a documentary on TV about transgender people. “I learned that it is possible to have a soul that doesn't match your body, and there are treatments to help fix that mismatch,” she said, according to Newsweek.

Marie noticed Tashina in gym class one day, and decided to talk to her on the bus ride home. She shared that instead of sitting in her normal spot, she stopped and laid across Tashina’s lap.

"I told her it was a long trip and I needed to rest a moment. She laughed that same wonderful laugh, and I knew I had a chance,” Marie said. The pair would spend hours on the phone talking to each other after that. "I felt like I was missing half of me whenever we weren't together. I realized I wanted to share every experience with her,” Marie said.

Marie planned to transition after college, but an accident led to that decision being made sooner.

Marie came out to Tashina on Halloween night in 2005, per Newsweek. "Marie said that she didn't want to take off the costume. She said that she wished she could be a girl always. I told her that I still loved her and that I wasn't going to leave her," Tashina said.

Marie shared that she had planned to transition after college but after a serious accident in her sophomore year, she decided to do it sooner.

Despite a difficult transition process, the couple remained together and later got married. "When I came out, my wife told me she would be my partner, my best friend, or my sister. She ended up becoming all three. I made it clear that her leaving would not be a failure in her commitment to me, but she's still never wavered," Marie told Newsweek.

Marie added, "We are in love, mind, body, and soul. Our intimacy isn't derailed by physical changes."

The couple were thrown out by their parents in 2009.

The couple shared with Newsweek that they were both thrown out of their homes once Marie started to transition and officially came out. They said that Marie’s parents were initially supportive but as several weeks passed, they started to blame the transition on college and exhibit controlling behavior, such as going through Marie’s things and following Marie everywhere.

Tashina’s parents were also unhappy after Marie came out and the couple were forced out of their homes in 2009. They then rented a small room in Ontario, California.

The couple got married in July 2011, at a local courthouse and though staff initially tried to turn them away, a judge agreed to marry them.

The couple recently celebrated two decades together.

I wouldn’t be her(e) without my lovely wife. Prom photos at 17, and nearly 20 years later going strong.
by u/yeahididit in MadeMeSmile

The couple posted in the Reddit thread, r/MadeMeSmile, with a photo of them from their high school prom, before Marie's transition, and a photo of them now, 20 years later. They captioned the post, “I wouldn’t be her(e) without my lovely wife. Prom photos at 17, and nearly 20 years later going strong.” Reddit users responded with encouragement and support.

"Congratulations!!!" one user commented. "20 years is a big deal. You should be SUPER proud."

“I mean this positively: You kind of got to experience two marriages for the price of one!" wrote another user. "Oh you have some stories to tell, I'm sure. And I'm super happy you both stuck together through all the changes and challenges – and you both look better than ever.”