Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones has learned ‘incredible’ things from his trans son’s courage
Kelly Jones. (Mike Lewis Photography/WireImage)
Stereophonics star Kelly Jones has revealed that he has “learned a lot” from his 15-year-old son, Colby, after the teen came out as trans.
Chatting on The High Performance Podcast with hosts Jake Humphrey and Damian Hughes, Jones praised Colby’s “incredible courage” while noting that he has sparred with critics who say it’s all “just a phase”.
“I’ve learned a lot from him,” Jones said, explaining that he has been on a journey to educate himself about trans issues to help Colby.
“I’ve learned a lot from all my kids. I’ve just been walking around a park with my 13-year-old because she’s going through stuff as well.
“You can’t stop learning from them really. I mean Colby’s episode was, you’ve got a young kid telling you something’s not right. And you think it’s about a sexuality thing, and it slowly trickles into a gender situation. And then I look around and I’m thinking: ‘Well, who can I talk to you about this?'”
Jones said that he doesn’t know “one single person in all the people I know in my life” that can relate to his family’s experience.
“I can talk to people about having kids from different mothers. I can talk to people about most things, but this is like, I’ve got no idea what’s going on here,” he continued.
“Once I realised that was actually happening, it was a case of, I have to do my research and go and talk to some therapist to get help, to get him therapists because he’s at an age where you’re not an adult, but you’re not a child and this in-between.”
Kelly Jones knows his ‘incredible’ son the best
The 46-year-old added that even as people attempted to bat down Colby, he knows his child best.
“‘I went to watch a carol service at the school last summer, and people are going: ‘It’s just a phase, he’ll grow out of it’,” Kelly Jones said of his trans son.
“I went to this carol service and watching all these teenage girls singing with long hair and the little spots and all the stuff they’re doing.
“And he walked down with a short-cropped haircut, like David Bowie, wearing trousers and a shirt.
“And he’s like, ‘I look like a bartender’ and he couldn’t look more different from the rest of the girls there. And I’m thinking: ‘Well, that takes a lot of balls that.’
“And there’s no way you would be doing that if it wasn’t something for real, you know?
“So there’s a lot of courage involved in that whole thing. Yeah. It’s incredible.”
