A former WWE pro wrestler, who has been featured on WrestleMania, Raw, and SmackDown, just came out as transgender. Her name is Gabbi Tuft, and she shared the news of her transition in a powerful statement on Instagram.
"This is me. Unashamed, unabashedly me," Gabbi wrote. "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."
Gabbi, who previously wrestled under the professional stage name "Tyler Reks," said that the months leading up to her decision to come out were "some of the darkest of [her] life":
The previous eight months have been some of the darkest of my entire life. The emotional turmoil of being transgender and having to face the world has almost ended me on multiple occasions. 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.