My wife knew from day 1 about my gender issues. At that time, some 30 years I settled for CD, having twice experimented with transitioning.
Transitioning isn't an all or nothing process. Many find it
necessary, but it is not always the case. If cross-dressing works, why not just do that? If going out and being a woman part time works, do it. There is no right way to be transgender. It is a spectrum, a very broad one at that. I believe I speak for everyone when I say we all wish we weren't trans and had to do something about it. The last thing any sane person wants to do is transition full time if they had a choice.
Many TGs think they'd like having breasts. But the reality is often far different. Often times after a short while on anti-androgens and estrogen things start going dead down south

. This when we separate the men from the girls.
In my case, I never hated the dangly bits. Just hated being me and in my skin in general. Better luck next lifetime, right? In fact dangly bits and I have had some great times together. I just would rather not have them. I've been on/off low dose HRT over the decades for only one reason, my emotional health. I again started on HRT a few years ago and soon escalated to feminizing doses. I also very seriously started working on myself as part of taking the trans beast on for real this time. For the first time in my life I am happy being me. Happy living in my own skin. I still work and present as a male. I am often as confused as my wife is. But this is working for me today.