Trans man who began his transition at 57 shares the challenges he faced
When Devin Delani began transitioning at 57, he couldn’t have expected the challenges he would face in the coming years.
Now 60, the TikTok star has detailed his decision to come out as a trans man, in a series of videos published on his social media account.
But he hasn’t had to do it alone, having met soulmate Rowan before his transition.
“Two years into our relationship, Devin started their transition,” Rowan said. “We got together as lesbians originally. Devin’s transition wasn’t on our radar at all. It wasn’t even a conversation we had for the first two years we were together.”
The pair initially fell in love after leaving heterosexual marriages that they had been in for decades.
Devin told PinkNews that he had been married for 32 years, while Rowan had been in a 23-year-long marriage.
“I had actually sworn to myself that I would not get into a committed relationship again,” Rowan said. “But I realised I was completely in love with Devin.”
Ending his marriage had nothing to do with feelings around his gender identity, Devin said, but rather thinking that life had more to offer. “I just realised there was more for me in the world and I needed to live that. I was not aware at that time that [being] transgender was going to be part of my journey.”
An intrinsically difficult part of Devin’s journey was even knowing that being trans was an option. Growing up, being transgender was never discussed or acknowledged. “It just wasn’t a known thing,” he said.
“It wasn’t something that was public. You couldn’t just go up and say: ‘Oh, this is Mr Trans and Mrs Trans’. It wasn’t like that at all. Even to be gay, to be bi, anything outside what’s considered ‘the norm’ [was unheard of].”
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