My fiancé came out as trans, but isn’t ready to transition.
Hello everyone, forgive me as I am not a frequent reddit user so I am a bit nervous to post this.
Just to preface, my partner is AMAB and came out as trans to me this week. As of now, for safety reasons, he wants me to keep using he/him pronouns and his birth name. I will respect those wishes, and when he wants me to call him she/her pronouns i will happily do that, i just want him to feel as comfortable as possible.
I (25 F) have been with my fiancé for 8 years now. I have always had a sneaking suspicion that my fiancé was trans, but he has always had a hard time speaking about his gender. When he came out to me the other night, he had tears in his eyes and spoke very softly. Of course I told him that i’ll stick by his side no matter what, I love him for who he is, and i’ll 100% support him through the transition.
He told me he is not ready to tell his family or friends yet. We live in a rural town in the south and he is scared for his safety. He said he wants to “lay low” for a few years, and wait to transition (even socially) until we can move away. He said he is terrified of what the men in his family will think, and that he doesn’t want to risk his safety by transitioning. He also touched on his gender dysphoria, and how much it has been weighing on him.
How can I offer my partner as much support as possible? He knows that I would never leave his side because of this, but how can I offer support while he is navigating this? I want to be as supportive and caring as I can, because I know this is painful and hard for him to deal with. Please, if anyone has any advice, let me know. TIA.