Couple plan to re-marry after partner comes out as trans woman during their honeymoon

A couple is planning to get married again after one of the spouses came out as a trans woman. Rayna Harvey and Jae Gray got married in 2018 and it was during their honeymoon that Rayna, 33, came out to her wife, and said she identified as a woman. The pair had initially met on MySpace more than a decade ago in 2007, reported The Mirror. Rayna never felt comfortable in her body all those years and finally opened up to her wife. Jae Gray is a photographer, hairdresser, and make-up artist and Rayna Harvey is a graphic designer. "My wife didn't know about me until after we got married, and to most people that would be the end, but for us, it was just the beginning," said Rayna. "True love exists."

The couple plan to marry a second time, this time with Rayna comfortable in her own skin. Recalling their wedding in 2018, Jae says Rayna was 'absent' during the ceremony and she understands why now. This time when Rayna and Jae say "I do," it will mean a lot more to both of them. “There’s a bit of a disconnect when we think back to our first wedding as I feel ‘well Ray wasn’t there?’ and I want her in my wedding,” said Jae, reported LGBTQ Nation. “What I want more than anything is for her family to see her walk down the aisle and for her to have her day — I got to have mine with all my bells and whistles, so now it’s her turn.”

It was during their honeymoon that Rayna came out to her wife. Rayna told Jae that she felt like a woman since she was 11-years-old. Not only was Jae supportive, but she also helped Rayna put on her first dress and also did the makeup for her during their honeymoon. “It was liberating. Something I’d been storing away for so long and when it actually happened it was more of a relief – the overpowering feeling was ‘thank God for that,'” recalls Rayna. “It must have been a bit of a shock for her in the first instance but she’s turned everything on its head to make me feel comfortable.”

Jae said Rayna felt comfortable enough to tell her about it, knowing that she wouldn't judge or get angry at Rayna. With time, Rayna started expressing herself in public and it made a world of a difference. “The very first time we went out with her presenting as a woman and someone addressed us as ‘ladies’ in a restaurant her face lit up – I knew at that exact moment that she was trans,'” said Jae. Rayna came out publicly as a trans woman in December 2018 and received support from her loved ones including her 93-year-old grandmother, who has sent her celebration cards recognizing her transition. She also sought gender-affirming care and said that it’s “worth every penny.”

Rayna's family members were absent during the first wedding as they were unable to attend the event in the United States in 2018. Rayna's family will be able to watch her walk down the aisle this time as the pair get married, said Jae. Rayna hails from Somerset, England, where both of them now live. Unlike the last time, the pair intend to both wear black dresses as part of their black and white theme. The event will also have white, pink, and red roses which Jae says will symbolize the demise of the previous Rayna and her re-birth as this confident woman. The pair had met for the first time on MySpace in 2007 before connecting later on MSN. The pair met for the first time in person when Rayna flew to Dallas, Texas to meet Jae. The couple lost touch for a few years in between before re-connecting in 2017. Jae flew to meet Rayna in the UK and the latter proposed to her. They married in a small ceremony in March 2018, in front of just 30 guests.

The couple plan to hold their re-marriage in the Quantock Hills around September 2022. Rayna said her personal transformation and journey couldn't have happened without the support of Jae. “I absolutely would not have gotten to where I am today without Jae,” said Rayna.