Several years ago I worked with a person who presented as male - lets call them J. They were older, had a closely cropped white beard, short hair and a fairly aloof demeanour. I didn't work closely with them but still remember them. They only worked in my organisation on a contract for about 9-12 months and were gone after that. Then, a few years later I heard that they had transited to female... using another name that also started with J. That kind of surprised me because, in working with them there was nothing in the slightest to suggest they were trans - but I think we all know that pre transition we go to a lot of effort to keep the trans aspect of ourselves buried deep down.
Anyway, I then heard that they were also going out with a (cis) woman who had also worked in my organisation - neither of them were there at the same time so they didn't know each other, it just happened that they crossed paths and the woman had lost her husband a few years earlier and (I believe) J had separated from her wife. The two of them have been together ever since.
So that's the background.
On Friday, through a series of unexpected circumstances, I finally got to meet J at a lunch with other former colleagues. I'll say met rather than re-meet since, despite me remembering her, she had no idea who I was, even as the colleague she once worked with. I guess I look a fair bit different from the skinny, balding, grumpy guy she once knew and it was quite difficult to connect the dots. We didn't talk much about our various transitions, I wasn't that interested in talking shop with her but we did swap a few notes.
I'd say that had I not known who she was through her current relationship with that other woman she is going out with (also at the lunch) I would never have guessed it was her. She looked very different and behaved very differently, much less aloof - she was definitely in her element living as herself so it was interesting to see. And despite the fact I consider myself reasonably good at picking out trans women from a crowd I'd be hard pressed to pick her. I'd say she was in her early 60s when she transitioned and is now in her late 60s - clearly she is doing well and a good example of "never too old" transition.
I'd be interested if anyone else has heard of people from their past who might have transitioned since you first knew them. Have you seen them since? How was that?
