Trans Woman Finally Finds Love With The Same Guy Who Once Rejected Her When She Was a Boy

Erin Anderson thought she had already been rejected for good, but a second chance years later changed everything. What started as a Facebook message to Jared Norris turned into a relationship neither of them saw coming at first.

Erin first reached out when she was still living as a boy, and Jared was not interested. After Erin came out as trans and later reconnected with him on Instagram, the two began talking again, and this time the connection stuck. Their story has since drawn attention for the way it unfolded, and for how openly they handled the relationship from the start.

Then the backlash started, and they had to decide whether to keep going anyway.

But their story didn't end there; their paths crossed again, and this time Erin had undergone breast augmentation and two years of hormone replacement therapy.

Facebook, Erin Anderson

It was two years later when he liked one of my pictures on Instagram,” she says. “By that time, I had come out as trans and a woman. I decided I was going to be upfront, so I sent him a message with my number, and within five minutes, I got a message from him, and we started talking. The next day was my birthday; I hung out with him, and a week later we were officially dating on Facebook and have been together ever since.”

One of the reasons their relationship is so successful is that Jared was honest and open about Erin's identity with his family and friends from the beginning.

“Prior to dating Jared, I had been seeing people, but nothing serious came about because they were afraid to tell their family or friends,” Erin says. “They would tell me they really liked me but couldn’t risk their family knowing I was trans, and that was what hurt the most. But Jared didn’t fear that; he told his family that I was trans and everything. He doesn’t care what other people think.”

The couple also chose social media as a platform to openly discuss their relationship and created a video where they addressed the topic of dating trans people and why it shouldn't be stigmatized.

That openness brought support, but it also brought a wave of ugly reactions.

“After getting all these death threats, we talked about it and decided to ignore everybody, whether they were sending love or hate,” Jared adds. “Thankfully, I received some messages encouraging us and telling us to ignore the haters.

“It reminds us that people like that are not worth our time.”

It also echoes the AITA fight over boundaries in a secret relationship with a friend.

However, their story also inspired many people who sent them loving and encouraging messages.

Facebook, Erin Anderson

The hate did not get the last word.

Before you celebrate, see why Demi Lovato called her Wilmer Valderrama teen romance “unhealthy”