A trans woman who came out at the age of 48 with the support of her wife has renewed her wedding vows after beginning her medical transition. Leona Slack, 51, originally from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, was assigned male at birth and named Paul, but says she knew she was not a boy from a young age.
After meeting her third wife, Charoen, 45, in 2004 in Bangkok, Leona revealed her gender identity. With Charoen's support, she began medically transitioning in 2020. In March this year, the couple renewed their wedding vows in a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, where they live with their two children, George, 16, and Harry, eight.
Leona said she hopes to encourage others that it is never too late to 'live your truth'. She recalled being jealous of girls at school and, at age 11, contemplating taking her mother's contraceptive pills believing they would turn her 'into a girl'. She kept her identity secret until meeting Charoen, who accepted her from the start.
Leona is awaiting further gender-affirming surgery next year but says she now feels free to be herself. She wants to help others who struggle to express their gender identity due to fear of public opinion.
