A lot for me to relate to here. My partner and I have been together 8 years, and in that time, he’s become a professional actor, and I’ve transitioned. And things are different. I worried so deeply that he’d lose his attraction to me as I shifted to a more and more androgynous, and then slightly male appearance. He’s never cared, never minded, but it’s still a big change for a relationship to weather.

We’re both so busy now with our careers. We don’t stare into one another’s eyes like we used to. We don’t spend hours cuddling, refusing to get out of bed. Sometimes this shift fills me with doubt. And then he’ll come home, late in the night after a performance, and my heart lifts with excitement, and we sit in the shower together catching up on our days. And then… I know that I have lost the rush of new love, but gained a family.

Thank you for writing.