British husband and US wife remarry as two WOMEN following 17 years of marriage after he has sex-change

• Cheryl Palmer, 58 and Ian Hawkes, 55, met 20-years-ago after talking online 
• Ian – now SueZie had always battled with gender and had the operation in 2014 
• SueZie and Cheryl remarried to recognise that they were two married women  

A British husband and his US wife have remarried as two women and say the sex change has made them even more in love.

Cheryl Palmer and Ian Hawkes – now named SueZie, first met around 20-years-ago after talking on an online chatroom.

Insurance worker Cheryl, 58, was drawn to SueZie’s honesty and humour while former hairdresser Ian, 55, was struck by Cheryl’s gentle personality.

Their relationship continued to progress and it was then that Ian, as she had previously been known decided to start the journey to gender reassignment surgery.

Cheryl and SueZie (pictured above) first sparked a relationship when talking in an online chatroom 

The couple were first married in 2000 as husband and wife after Ian flew to Florida to be with Cheryl. Couple pictured above after SueZie’s surgery

The couple married in 2000 after Ian flew to Florida to be with Cheryl. Just months later Cheryl gave birth to their son Jasion.

Despits seemingly having the perfect relationship, Ian was battling an inner turmoil. In 2014 he decided to go through with the operation to become SueZie.

After coming around after the hospital SueZie’s first words were ‘life’s so much simpler now’.

For SuZie it marked the end of decades of unhappiness, as SueZie said from the age of five she had felt as though she was a female.

She had hidden away her feelings from her family and previous ex’s, but when she reached 50, she decided enough was enough.

SueZie had always been honest with Cheryl about her struggles and it was one of the first things they had spoken about when they first met.

In 1997 transgender did not feature in the dictionary and transitioning had never been considered an option.

SueZie started to self-administer hormones and was gradually switching to wearing more feminine clothing and started working on a make-up counter, which gave her the opportunity to experiment with make-up and different products.

Not being able to battle the feelings anymore, SueZie (left) revealed she wanted to have gender reassignment surgery but Cheryl (right) at first had reservations

But this wasn’t enough and after experiencing Peyronie’s disease, SueZie told Cheryl that ‘she couldn’t do this anymore’.

For a long time, SueZie had been tucking her penis between her legs, which had been extremely painful.

She said that if she was ever aroused then she would be ‘trying to fight against the curve and it was painful’.

Speaking to the Mirror she said:’It hampered our sex life because I couldn’t associate with it.

After the surgery SueZie (pictured above) wanted to get rid of any old memories of her being a man and started to get rid of wedding photos 

‘They [doctors] wanted to fix it and they told me what they were going to do, open it and rebuild it.

‘I said to Cheryl ‘why am I having fixed someone I don’t associate with and don’t want? How about take this time and transition?”

Despite the fact the couple had previously discussed SueZie’s feelings towards gender, Cheryl expressed her reservations.

She admitted: ‘Back in 2009 when she first brought it up, I was concerned about my children.

SueZie (pictured above) had previously worked at Coca Cola headquarters and said she remembers he first day back at work following the surgery

‘What are they going to think?’ ‘What are their friends going to think?’ That was the main concern.

‘I wasn’t very understanding and I felt bad about that. I didn’t get it.

‘After that I started paying attention to her face and I started seeing all those things before I never really noticed – the sadness in her eyes.’

The topic then came up again in 2014 and Cheryl voiced her concerns about the operation.

‘I didn’t want to lose her. But I knew how important it was, so I said ‘yeah, let’s do it”.

The couple went to Las Vegas after SueZie had the surgery and had a ceremony before getting their original wedding certificate changed 

Processes were put in motion but the couple were told it would take years.

SueZie said: ‘Hell no was I waiting two years.

‘I said I would be in a female body before the end of the year, that was in April. 22 weeks later I’d had everything done.’

After waking up from the surgery, SueZie put her hands between her legs and smiled as she realised her penis had gone.

SueZie eventually went back to Wiltshire explain things to her friends and family

‘It was extremely emotional,’ she said.

‘When I came home, laying on my front and not having that sensation down there felt so natural and how it should always have been.

‘I always felt like SueZie on the inside.’

Operation done, the next barrier SueZie would have to face was being accepted by her new colleagues.

SueZie had worked at Coca Cola headquarters and after her first day back following the surgery, SueZie went in wearing a dress and let her hair grow.

She said: ‘Walking into the office on the first day after the official transition was about as soul destroying you could ever imagine.

‘Because certain people think it’s a joke. You could see their reactions written all over their faces.’

Following the operations Cheryl and SueZie’s love blossomed and SueZie began to see Ian as a completely different person and had wiped out memories, including their wedding day – in a bid to reinvent herself.

She said she found it ‘disturbing’ to revisit the memories and had started to take down wedding photos as it was a reminder of all the years she had spent being trapped in the wrong body.

She added: ‘I don’t remember a lot about my first marriage.

‘A lot of memories were wiped out. I know I was married and where it was, but there are so many memories that have been totally remapped.

‘All the first wedding pictures came down. That was upsetting for Cheryl because it felt like I was throwing out our past.

‘For me to see me as SueZie – who I always felt I was on the inside – and help get away from all those male memories that I had, you’ve got to remap.’

The couple then decided to fly to Las Vegas in 2017, where they had first gone on their honey-moon and remarry as two females.

They were also joined by close friends and family, including their son Jaison.

Jaison said he has always been accepting of the decision.

SueZie, who sewed her own wedding dress said both her and Cheryl cried during the ceremony.

‘It was very emotional. It was so meaningful to have Cheryl go through the whole thing with two separate people.

‘The second marriage really felt like a first marriage for me.’

SueZie’s stepmother Lisa Hawkes conducted the ceremony and the couple also had their marriage certificate change to acknowledge them as two females.

In 2016 SueZie returned to her hometown of Wiltshire to visit friends and family and to answer their questions.

While she was there she visited the grave of her father Maurice, who died in 2004. She later revealed the sadness at never getting to show him the ‘new her’ but believes he would have been a ‘staunch supporter’.

SueZie still enjoys riding her motorcycle and has often been spotted wearing leathers and a bikini underneath. This is while in her spare time she does ‘Sizzling SueZie’ cooking videos and ‘bakes the best bread in the world’.

She is now focusing on her biography, ‘Desperately Seeking SueZie, which is due to be released next year’.

She added: ‘Our relationship has been changed for the better. I’m so much happier.

‘I have a much, much better understanding of Cheryl’s body. Our sex life is the best it’s ever been for both of us. It just works.

‘Cheryl never thought she was going to be a lesbian, although she doesn’t see herself as one because if she was single she wouldn’t go dating girls.

‘It’s just that she fell in love with SueZie and I fell in love with Cheryl. She always said she married the person, not the appendage.

‘If I was single I wouldn’t go for a female. With a guy I know exactly what I would do.

‘But Cheryl’s the trump card because she is the most attractive person there ever is in the world to me.’

Cheryl added: ‘My favourite thing about SueZie is the laughter and light I see in her face.

‘Her eyes are now smiling but before they hurt and it’s a really great change.’

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