The former WWE star who once went by the name Tyler Reks has come out as a transgender woman, changing her name to Gabbi Tuft.
Tuft came out to her fans on Instagram on Thursday, posting a photo of herself in a red tank top and ripped jeans posing in front of a framed picture of her when she was still wrestling.
“This is me,” she wrote in the caption. “Unashamed, unabashedly me. This is the side of me that has hidden in the shadows, afraid and fearful of what the world would think; afraid of what my family, friends, and followers would say or do. I am no longer afraid and I am no longer fearful. I can now say with confidence, that I love myself for WHO I am.”
Tuft, who retired from the WWE in 2014, went on to say that the past few months have been “the darkest” of her entire life.
“The emotional turmoil of being transgender and having to face the world has almost ended me on multiple occasions,” she wrote. “However, the day I stopped caring about what other people thought, was the day I truly became limitless and allowed my authentic self to come into the light.”
Tuft has been married to her wife Priscilla for nineteen years, and they have a 9 year-old daughter named Mia.
“My loving wife, family, and closest friends have accepted me for who I am,” Tuft said. “To them, I am forever grateful. Your support along the way means more than you will ever know.
“I don’t expect everyone to agree or understand,” she added. “It’s not my place to change any of your core beliefs. Just know that the outer shell may change, but the soul remains the same.”
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The day before she came out as transgender, Tuft shared a touching tribute to Priscilla on her Instagram page, calling her wife her “twin flame.”
“Our love has crossed many lifetimes,” she wrote. ” … And so we stand by each other’s side, fully supporting, without judgement, without opinion, bonded by lifetimes of pain, heartache, joy, happiness, passion, irreplaceable experiences, births and deaths – and we are both free, and more in love than any lifetime before. … I love you P, until my dying breath…and then I will find you again.”
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