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- Tuft was active in the WWE between 2009 and 2012 under her ring-name “Tyler Reks.”
- Tuft posted a statement to Instagram writing that she is “no longer fearful” to be her “authentic self.”
- Tuft and her wife Priscilla opened about the experience in an interview with Extra TV.
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Gabbi Tuft, the former WWE wrestling star formerly known as Gabe Tuft, has come out as transgender.
Tuft, who was active in the WWE between 2009 and 2012 under her ring-name “Tyler Reks,” posted a statement to Instagram on Friday.
“This is me. Unashamed, unabashedly me. This is the side of me that has hidden in the shadows, afraid and fearful of what the world would think; afraid of what my family, friends, and followers would say or do,” Tuft wrote.
“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.”
However, while Tuft was full of positivity in her post, the former wrestler did write that “the previous eight months have been some of the darkest of my entire life.”
Tuft wrote: "The emotional turmoil of being transgender and having to face the world has almost ended me on multiple occasions."
Tuft went on to write that once she stopped caring what other people might think of her, she was able to be her "authentic self," and that her wife, family, and friends have accepted her.
"The outer shell may change, but the soul remains the same."
In an Instagram story, Tuft wrote: "This is probably the most exciting day of my life, next to the birth of my child and my wedding day."
Tuft appeared on "Raw," "SmackDown," and "WrestleMania," but quit WWE in 2012 in order to spend more time with her wife Priscilla and their daughter Mia, who was born in 2011. Tuft and Priscilla married in 2002, and Priscilla posted on Instagram herself following the news.
Priscilla posted a montage of clips and photographs of the life she and Tuft have had together so far, and wrote that: "The soul is androgynous and love is eternal. 23 years in love with a lifetime to go."
Tuft opened up about her experience so far in an interview with Extra TV: "When I was 10… when my parents weren't home, I would sneak into my mom's closet and try out her clothes and it just felt right. But I suppressed it my whole life, just because of society, knowing that people didn't accept it. So I pushed it down as far as I could."
Tuft and Priscilla said that their relationship is now going through an "interesting progression" as they navigate how to be together. The two also spoke about how they are talking to their daughter about the news, and Tuft said it's an "ongoing conversation."
Tuft recalled telling Mia she wasn't going to go out in public in case people made fun of her and that affected Mia. Tuft said: "She leans over gives me the biggest hug and she says, 'Daddy, I will never make fun of you.'"
Tuft also promised to be "100% transparent" in sharing her story as she wants to help others going through the same struggle with their transgender identity as she did.
"Knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel can just be that ray of hope that keeps somebody with us, that keeps them alive, and lets them know, 'Yes, I can do this, too.'"