Like a lot of couples, Barry and Anne Watson wanted to renew their marriage vows.
But when they went ahead nine years after their wedding, there was a big difference... this time Barry was a woman called Jayne.
And Anne was only too happy to go ahead with the ceremony to show how much she loved her new wife.
“At first Anne was furious when I told her I wanted a sex change,” says Barry, 43, a former bus driver who changed his name to Jayne by deed poll.
“Our marriage had been going through problems and she thought I’d been cheating on her with another woman. But I just wanted to be one.
“Anne came to accept me for who I wanted to be and love me as Jayne. Renewing our vows seemed the perfect way to tell the world how happy we are with our new lives.”
Anne, 53, adds: “I grieved for the loss of Barry, but there were sides to Jayne I enjoyed getting to know. Now we sit and giggle and talk about hair, clothes and make-up.
“To me our second wedding was more special than our first as I knew Jayne was finally comfortable with who she was.”
Even as a young boy Jayne realised he was not like other boys. “At school it seemed more normal to play hopscotch with the girls rather than football with the boys,” says Jayne. “I started dressing in my mother’s skirts and dresses when she was out. Putting my own clothes back on felt like going back to a prison.
“When I was older I’d buy women’s clothes and drive to areas where no one knew me to wander the streets in a frock and high heels.”
Desperate to fit in, Jayne tried dating women and in 1995 met Anne through a lonely hearts column. “We hit it off straight away and despite my identity crisis, I was totally attracted to Anne”, says Jayne.
And Anne, who’d gone through a messy divorce, was bowled over by her lover’s boyish good looks. “Jayne was so sweet. Everyone said he was my toyboy. I didn’t care, we were in love.”
After dating for six months, they moved in to a house together in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Then in 2002 they married. “Neither of us could stop smiling,” says Jayne. “I wore my best suit and Anne wore a lovely dress.”
But Jayne was still struggling with who she was. “When Anne left the house I’d dress in a skirt and pearls And on internet chat forums I’d pose as a girl.”
Anne also sensed something was wrong and in 2008, Jayne confessed all.
“It was hard,” says Jayne. “Telling the woman I loved that I too wanted to be a woman is not easy. ”
Finally after a lot of soul-searching Anne decided to support her husband. “I couldn’t accept it to begin with,” says Anne. “The first time I saw Jayne wearing a dress I started hacking at it with scissors. But slowly I realised that even though my husband wanted to become female, my feelings had not changed.”
Jayne started dressing as a woman then started on a course of female hormones to soften her skin and reduce her body hair.
And last year the couple re-affirmed their vows.
“This time we went dress shopping together,” says Anne. “We were very careful to make sure we didn’t clash. We both had a bouquet, although I made sure mine was a bit bigger.”
Anne adds: “I still love the same person whether they’re called Barry or Jayne... even though she does drive me mad when she steals my clothes without asking me!”
And Jayne thinks she’s the luckiest woman alive to have such a caring and loving wife in Anne. “People might think I’m weird or a freak. But all that matters to me is that my wife loves me.”
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