Married couple who wed as man and wife renewing vows as two women
- last year
A married couple who wed as man and wife plan to renew their vows as two women - with the bride insisting "it's the person I fell in love with - not the body."
Brit Jae Harvey, 32, met her partner Rayna, 35, on Myspace in 2009 but after two years in a long-distance relationship the couple broke up.
The couple rekindled their romance and got married - as man and woman - in Jae's hometown - Dallas, Texas, US, in March 2018.
However, Rayna was struggling with her identity and confided in Jae on their honeymoon - who vowed to stick by her.
During the week long break, Rayna went out in public as a woman for the first time and when the waiter greeted her as a woman, she "instantly knew who she was".
Rayna started transitioning after coming out in a Facebook post.
She has since had several surgeries totalling £70k and completed her transition in 2022.
The pair hope to tie the knot as wife and wife.
Rayna has to get a gender recognition certificate - a government authorisation of her gender - and she's hesitant about proving herself yet again to the world, she said.
Rayna, a graphic designer, from Somerset, UK said: "I can't wait to walk down the aisle in a dress.
"Our first wedding was still really cool, we got really drunk and ate lots of cake.
"I didn't think about it on that day, but I've struggled with my identity since I was 11 years old.
"To marry as a woman, I have to be psychoanalysed by two independent psychiatrists to prove I've been living as myself for two years.
"After what I've been through, I feel very excluded and like I don't matter."
Jae, a photographer, originally from Dallas, Texas, US, said: "We want to have a black and white wedding and wear black dresses to symbolise death and rebirth.
"We got married in my mum's backyard the first time round and it was a very small wedding.
"Unfortunately, Rayna's family couldn't be there because her grandfather had passed away the week before."
The couple first met on social media in 2008 and started talking non-stop in 2010.
Rayna flew over to visit Jae in America in August 2010, but they couldn't make their relationship go the distance and split at the end of 2011.
After later discovering Rayna had split from her partner of five years, Jae reached out to her on Facebook in the summer of 2017.
Jae added: "I came over to visit Rayna in October 2017 and it was like seven years hadn't passed.
"Rayna proposed to me as I was about to board my flight at Bristol Airport sat in Costa.
"She made a cheeky comment about me staying and I said you'd have to propose to me - so she did.
"I went home on cloud nine."
The pair got married in March 2018 in an intimate ceremony in Jae's mum's garden.
The newlyweds then returned to the UK so Jae could start her visa application process.
A couple of months after the wedding Rayna confided in Jae that she was having some thoughts and feelings she didn't understand.
They discussed it during their honeymoon at Centre Parks, Longleat, Warminster, Wiltshire, in June 2018.
Brit Jae Harvey, 32, met her partner Rayna, 35, on Myspace in 2009 but after two years in a long-distance relationship the couple broke up.
The couple rekindled their romance and got married - as man and woman - in Jae's hometown - Dallas, Texas, US, in March 2018.
However, Rayna was struggling with her identity and confided in Jae on their honeymoon - who vowed to stick by her.
During the week long break, Rayna went out in public as a woman for the first time and when the waiter greeted her as a woman, she "instantly knew who she was".
Rayna started transitioning after coming out in a Facebook post.
She has since had several surgeries totalling £70k and completed her transition in 2022.
The pair hope to tie the knot as wife and wife.
Rayna has to get a gender recognition certificate - a government authorisation of her gender - and she's hesitant about proving herself yet again to the world, she said.
Rayna, a graphic designer, from Somerset, UK said: "I can't wait to walk down the aisle in a dress.
"Our first wedding was still really cool, we got really drunk and ate lots of cake.
"I didn't think about it on that day, but I've struggled with my identity since I was 11 years old.
"To marry as a woman, I have to be psychoanalysed by two independent psychiatrists to prove I've been living as myself for two years.
"After what I've been through, I feel very excluded and like I don't matter."
Jae, a photographer, originally from Dallas, Texas, US, said: "We want to have a black and white wedding and wear black dresses to symbolise death and rebirth.
"We got married in my mum's backyard the first time round and it was a very small wedding.
"Unfortunately, Rayna's family couldn't be there because her grandfather had passed away the week before."
The couple first met on social media in 2008 and started talking non-stop in 2010.
Rayna flew over to visit Jae in America in August 2010, but they couldn't make their relationship go the distance and split at the end of 2011.
After later discovering Rayna had split from her partner of five years, Jae reached out to her on Facebook in the summer of 2017.
Jae added: "I came over to visit Rayna in October 2017 and it was like seven years hadn't passed.
"Rayna proposed to me as I was about to board my flight at Bristol Airport sat in Costa.
"She made a cheeky comment about me staying and I said you'd have to propose to me - so she did.
"I went home on cloud nine."
The pair got married in March 2018 in an intimate ceremony in Jae's mum's garden.
The newlyweds then returned to the UK so Jae could start her visa application process.
A couple of months after the wedding Rayna confided in Jae that she was having some thoughts and feelings she didn't understand.
They discussed it during their honeymoon at Centre Parks, Longleat, Warminster, Wiltshire, in June 2018.