‘By going public we’re changing history’: Engaged gender swap couple say educating the world is worth the constant hate crime

Celebrity

Jamie Eagle, 20, and Louid Davies, 25, from Bridgend, south Wales
Jamie used to be a boy, Louis used to be a girl
Both are undergoing gender reassignment procedures
They will wait until then to marry and be intimate with each other

Louis, left, and Jamie, right, say they are plagued by internet trolls and verbal abuse, and Jamie can't go anywhere alone because she is constantly followed

Jamie says she can’t go out along as she is often followed or shouted at by people in passing cars. Internet trolls plague her, too, and she has started taking antidepressants.

But she says: ‘It’s like gay people, black people and women. None of these groups would have the rights they do if they hadn’t fought to change negative stereotypes and perceptions.

‘By going public, I feel like I’m doing my bit to help change history.’

They have also been told by others how helpful their story has been with regards to their own lives.

Jamie said: ‘So many people have told me I’ve inspired them and loads of people have come to me for advice, including parents of young children.’

Jame and Louis, both of whom are students, say they can’t remember life before wishing they were of the opposite gender. Going through puberty proved nightmarish for them both.

Jamie said: ‘It’s not the wrong body I’ve got, just the wrong parts. I literally hate my pasts and tried to cut them off as a teenager. But with surgery hopefully happening within the next 12 months, that will change.’

Louis Davies, 25, left, who was born a girl and named Samantha, and his fiance Jamie Eagle, 20, right, who was born a boy, say their decision to tell their story was the correct one, and is helping them 'to change history'

The couple, who haven’t spent a day apart since they met almost a year ago, and got engaged in March, plan not to be intimate with one another before they have had their operations.

Louis said: ‘It’s hard to be intimate yet because we are not yet comfortable with our bodies.’

Appearing on ITV’s This Morning last month, the couple explained they met when Louis invited Jamie to give a talk to his university group, as he prepared to come out as transgender.

Jamie said: ‘I know how hard it is to come out to family and friends. have known since I was three years old. I was always dressing up in girls clothes at nursery.

‘The first person I told when I had just turned 16 was my sister who took it very well but it has taken a long time with my family. I have been transgender for four years and it’s a slow process.’

Louis, who spent the televised interview holding his fiancee’s hand, added: ‘I was more nervous about asking for her number than telling my university group that I was transgender.

‘I think a lot of people mix gender and sexuality up. Hopefully speaking about it will eradicate those stereotypes. To put it simply I am boy and Jamie is a girl.’

The romantic couple appeared on the show to help raise awareness of gender reassignment.

Jamie is used to being in the public eye, and she revealed earlier this year that N-Dubz star Tulisa gave her the confidence to begin her transformation in to a woman.

Jamie, of Bridgend, south Wales, told The Sun: ‘Tulisa has become my idol as she is so true to herself and her attitude and glam style has given me the courage to embrace becoming a girl.

‘She’s brave with her fashion choices and I feel I must be brave every time I step outside as people stare at me for being transgender.

She added: ‘At school I didn’t fit in with the girls or the boys and because I was a bit different I was bullied. When I went to secondary school, aged 12, I fancied straight boys but I had a soft, girly voice and everyone assumed I was gay so I was called names and bullies put chewing gum in my hair.

‘It was very confusing because I didn’t think I was gay but I didn’t know what was different about me.’

This Morning host Eamonn Holmes asked the young couple today about the physical side of their relationship.

Louis said: ‘We can’t be intimate because we aren’t comfortable with our bodies and we both respect that. This is why we need the surgery, so we can move forward.’

Jamie, who started living as a girl aged 16, added: ‘There are lots of assessments and psychiatric appointments. It’s a long journey and it is a very strict process, they want to make sure we are completely ready.’