A husband and wife have proudly shared that they were finally able to marry as two women 17 years after gender-change.

58-year-old Cheryl Palmer and 55-year-old SueZie, previously known as Ian Hawkes, have first seen each other some 20 years ago in an online chat.

According to the couple, Cheryl was instantly drawn to Ian’s good sense of humor while then-he found Cheryl to have a wonderful and loving personality.

As their relationship progressed, the couple got married and gave birth to a healthy boy named Jaison. On top of that, Ian has decided to undergo a gender change – a decision that Cheryl wasn’t bothered by.

It wasn’t until 2014, however, that SueZie finally took the operation to become who she was meant to be from the start. As she revealed, she had wanted to be a girl since she was five and her “life’s so much simpler now.”

While SueZie and Cheryl talked about their personal gender-related feelings from the start of their relationship, Cheryl admitted she was afraid and had her doubts grew when SueZie decided to go through with the operation.

“Back in 2009 when she first brought it up, I was concerned about my children,” she admitted.

“What are they going to think? What are their friends going to think? That was the main concern. I wasn’t very understanding and I felt bad about that. I didn’t get it.

“After that I started paying attention to her face and I started seeing all those things before I never really noticed – the sadness in her eyes. I didn’t want to lose her. But I knew how important it was, so I said ‘yeah, let’s do it.’”

While the couple was ready to start right away, they were soon told they would have to wait for years before the surgery would be approved.

“Hell no was I waiting two years,” SueZie said. “I said I would be in a female body before the end of the year, that was in April. 22 weeks later I’d had everything done.”

Following the surgery, SueZie finally felt good in her own body as she reached between her legs and discovered her penis had been removed.

“It was extremely emotional,” she added.

“When I came home, laying on my front and not having that sensation down there felt so natural and how it should always have been. I always felt like SueZie on the inside.”

Following her physical transition, SueZie was confronted with a backlash by her co-workers and the society which prompted her to reinvent herself on the inside.

“I don’t remember a lot about my first marriage,” SueZie recalled.

“A lot of memories were wiped out. I know I was married and where it was, but there are so many memories that have been totally remapped.

“All the first wedding pictures came down. That was upsetting for Cheryl because it felt like I was throwing out our past.

“For me to see me as SueZie – who I always felt I was on the inside – and help get away from all those male memories that I had, you’ve got to remap.”

Fortunately for their relationship, however, the lovers decided to go to Las Vegas and tie the knot as two women back in 2017.

“It was very emotional. It was so meaningful to have Cheryl go through the whole thing with two separate people,” SueZie added.

“The second marriage really felt like a first marriage for me. Our relationship has been changed for the better. I’m so much happier.

“I have a much, much better understanding of Cheryl’s body. Our sex life is the best it’s ever been for both of us. It just works. Cheryl never thought she was going to be a lesbian.

“It’s just that she fell in love with SueZie and I fell in love with Cheryl. She always said she married the person, not the appendage. If I was single I wouldn’t go for a female. With a guy I know exactly what I would do. But Cheryl’s the trump card because she is the most attractive person there ever is in the world to me.”

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