TO TRANSFORM A DIFFERENCE

Kelly admitted the initial announcement of the transition did come as a shock. However, it wasn’t Zoey she was frustrated with – it was herself.

“[I was] because I frustrated with myself consider myself openminded. Because it was someone I was married to for so long, a part of me felt sad that she couldn’t tell me sooner,” Kelly admitted.

“I knew there was something going on because [Zoey] is a terrible liar but I’d say the first two weeks were the absolute hardest. really quickly.

“There was one day when I got sad in front of George and I said: ‘I’m worried I’m going to miss your daddy’ and George just said: ‘Well, daddy’s still there in Zoey.’”

Things moved

Zoey and Kelly have raised two inquisitive children who’ve been exposed to diverse literature that highlights all aspects of society. Admitting there was a lot to work through, the couple explained that being open with Molly and George helped strengthen their bond.

“The kids are the most open, accepting people in the world. If anything the relationships feel better now than before,” Kelly said.

“I would say there was a lot to work through and a lot to talk about. But because we did that in a safe place and we were allowed to have those feelings it worked.”

Zoey added: “We’ve read to our kids since they were born and all our books are really diverse. So they’ve been very aware of different cultures, different ways of life, gender, sexualities, and all these other different things. So it’s made a good foundation for them.”

Kelly, who’s always been a writer, didn’t initially have plans to go public with their story but said the lack of positive transgender coverage in the media urged them on to create their blog and try to make a difference.

Transgender news, both positive and negative, has made its rounds in the media considerably within the past five years.

With outlets tending to use “dead names” (names previously taken on prior to the person transitioning) the initial idea of going public was a scary one for the couple.

“I remember once [Zoey] came out, I was searching the internet for positive stories and I only found one and that took a lot of research to just find that,” Kelly admitted. “By that time then we thought: ‘Why don’t we be a positive story for someone?’

“There’s loads of trans forums and trans charities but there’s not necessarily a live website/blog area that people can access.”

Since going public with their story the couple have been inundated with messages from across the world from people in similar circumstances. Although it can be overwhelming for Kelly and Zoey at times, the pair are determined to push more positive stories to readers.

“We hit it so hard doing it last year, by speaking to so many publications, it became draining,” Zoey said.

“We had a break from it but now we’re ready to put more positivity back out there.”