FORMER WWE WRESTLER TYLER REKS COMES OUT AS TRANSGENDER WOMAN NAMED GABBI TUFT
Former WWE wrestler, Tyler Reks, is now known as Gabbi Tuft, a transgender woman.
The professional wrestling career of Tyler Reks spanned seven years, from 2007 to 2014, boasting appearances at Smackdown, Raw and Wrestlemania. After his retirement, the fitness fanatic created a fitness company called Body Spartan with wife Priscilla.
The focus of the company is to "positively transform the body, mind and spirit of men and women through targeted video workouts, nutritional programs, and motivational sessions."
The 42-year-old shared the news during a press release on Thursday. The star called Gabbi's journey a "thrilling story of gender transitioning."
The press release read; "Gabbi is about to share her thrilling story of gender transition. From a former WWE Superstar, Body Builder, Fitness Guru, Motivational Speaker and Motorcycle Racer, to a fun-loving and fabulous female. She has been finally set free and ready to rule her world.
"Despite his successes during and after his WWE career, Gabe was still wrestling with a secret persona dwelling deep within him. This is a persona he has been hiding in the loud silence of his soul since childhood. Finally, with the blessing of his loving wife Priscilla, Gabe is ready to reveal who he really is. 'He' is now known as 'She': A beautiful, wise, witty and wonderful woman called 'Gabbi'. This is a story that wrestling and other sports fans, friends and followers must not miss. Especially many in the LGBTQ community dealing with challenging transgender issues, who Gabbi and [wife] Priscilla are willing to help."
It seems Gabbi had intended to reveal the news on an interview with Extra. Instead, she took to Instagram to address the early revelation. She shared a photo of herself on her social media where she was posing in front of an old wrestling photo as she shared her new, authentic look.
Gabbi explained that; "The ball dropped early today as this is now worldwide news.
"This is me. Unashamed and unabashedly me. This is the side of me that has hidden in the shadows, afraid and fearful of what the world would think; and afraid of what my family, friends, and followers would say or do. 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. The previous eight months have been some of the darkest of my entire life. The emotional turmoil of being transgender and having to face the world has almost ended me on multiple occasions. However, the day I stopped caring about what other people thought was the day I truly became limitless and allowed my authentic self to come into the light.
"My loving wife, family, and closest friends have accepted me for who I am. To them, I am forever grateful. Your support along the way means more than you will ever know. I don't expect everyone to agree or understand. It's not my place to change any of your core beliefs. Just know that the outer shell may change, but the soul remains the same.
"I know that many of you have questions and, as I have promised, they will all be answered. Tomorrow, on Extra, my interview with Billy Bush airs worldwide. I have included a link in the bio to this interview, along with my personal coming out video that explains everything. (Waiting for Instagram to approve my name change and update the bio. Please see my story for the link in the meantime)."
The star continued to say that she "promises to always be transparent and truthful with [her] journey. And to be a light to those that are in need."
"This is me. Love always, Gabbi Alon Tuft."
The star teased her fans by sharing a close-up selfie with the caption; "1 day remaining".
"When you are ready to show all of your cards, there will be nothing left to fear." she continued.
"I am no longer afraid. Fear has been replaced with the highest vibrational state of gratitude. I am grateful for my past, for who I started this life as, for who I was, for who I am now, and for who I am becoming. Tomorrow, I close this book of my life and begin a new one. My hope is that the last nine days of this countdown have helped you reflect on things not of material nature...but rather on the non-physical aspects of life that create what we call the human experience.
"I hope along the way you have felt emotions that you have forgotten, felt the power of your heart energy, and have searched your soul for truths untold. Tomorrow the ace drops. Tomorrow I start a new book of life," she went on.
"Tomorrow, I invite you to share and celebrate this monumental moment with me."
In a recent post, Gabbi also elaborated on her role as a parent and a spouse. She shared photos with wife-of-18-years Priscilla and their daughter Mia.
You can read the press release in full below.