Former WWE superstar Gabbi Tuft comes out as trans: ‘This is me. Unashamed, unabashedly me’
(Instagram/Gabbi Tuft)
Former WWE wrestler Gabbi Tuft has come out as a trans woman.
Tuft – who wrestled professionally under the name Tyler Reks in the early 2000s and 2010s – shared the news of her transition on Thursday (4 February).
The former WWE star also said she would have an extended interview with Extra, which would air later today (5 February).
A press release said: “Gabbi is about to share her thrilling story of gender transitioning from a former WWE superstar, bodybuilder, fitness guru, motivational speaker and motorcycle racer to a fun-loving and fabulous female.
“She has finally been set free and is ready to rule the world.”
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Tuft seemingly revealed her transition to fans on Instagram a day earlier, with a photo of herself sitting next to an old photo from her wrestling days. The post was captioned: “This is me. Unashamed, unabashedly me.
“This is the side of me that has hidden in the shadows, afraid and fearful of what the world would think; afraid of what my family, friends, and followers would say or do.
“I am no longer afraid and I am no longer fearful. I can now say with confidence, that I love myself for WHO I am.”
Gabbi Tuft: ‘The previous eight months have been some of the darkest of my entire life’
The Instagram post revealed that Tuft had a difficult time deciding on how to reveal her gender transition to fans. She wrote in the post that the past eight months have been some of the “darkest of my entire life”. Tuft continued: “The emotional turmoil of being transgender and having to face the world has almost ended me on multiple occasions.
“However, the day I stopped caring about what other people thought, was the day I truly became limitless and allowed my authentic self to come into the light.”
After leaving WWE in 2014, Tuft started a fitness company called Body Spartan with her wife Priscilla, and the two have a young daughter named Mia.
The press release said Gabbi’s story is one that “wrestling and other sports fans, friends and followers must not miss, especially many in the LGBTQ community dealing with challenging transgender issues, who Gabbi and Priscilla are willing to help”.
