February 5, 2021
Former WWE Superstar Comes Out As Transgender: 'This is Me'
Brendan Walker READ TIME: 4 MIN.
Former WWE star Gabbi Tuft proudly came out as transgender this week in a lengthy Instagram post.
"This is me. 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," she wrote. "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."
She also confirmed she's trans in a press release the day after her post.
Tuft, 42, said in interviews she had been questioning her gender identity from a young age.
"When I was 10... when my parents weren't home, I would sneak into my mom's closet and try out her clothes and it just felt right", Tuft said of her gender identity when speaking with Extra. "I suppressed it my whole life, just because of society, knowing that people didn't accept it. So I pushed it down as far as I could."
Tuft, who was active in the world of professional wrestling from 2007-2014, has been quietly making this transition while moving into other ventures. Since her retirement, Tuft has become the co-owner of Body Spartan, a fitness company, in addition to taking up motorcycle racing and bodybuilding.
Her life post wrestling wasn't always this clear, though, with this announcement coming after a rough patch for the retired performer.
"The previous eight months have been some of the darkest of my entire life," Tuft wrote in her Instagram post. "The emotional turmoil of being transgender and having to face the world has almost ended me on multiple occasions."
She credits her wife, Priscilla, and other family and friend's ready acceptance of her new identity for helping get through this period.
Check out Tuft's full post below.
