A teenager who was born female is set to marry his mum's best friend – who babysat him when he was little.
Bobby Fransis Barnes, 19, has wanted to be male for as long as he can remember.
From the age of four Bobby dressed as a boy, he dated girls as he got older and at the age of 15 he decided to begin hormone treatment to become a fully-fledged man.
He is now living as man while he waits for full sex change surgery – and is now set to marry Donna Price, his mum Tracey Wood's best friend.
Donna, 31, knew Bobby as a young girl but lost touch with the family until she met Bobby again last year.
They got together after a chance meeting in a pub and now have Tracey's blessing to get married.
The trio from Worcester recently appeared on ITV's This Morning to explain their delight at being part of such a modern romance.
Mum Tracey, 41, who has four other sons and one daughter, told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield: "Bobby has always had a lot of girlfriends in his own age group in the past but when he got with Donna it was a relief.
"We've always known and supported him. When he was little he turned round to me and said he wanted to have a boy's haircut and boy's clothes like his brothers."
Bobby said: "When I saw Donna in the pub I just thought 'this is the girl I've had a crush on for years'. My childhood crush was stood there, it was this chance meeting."
Donna added: "It was scary the first time I went round as obviously me and Tracey are really good friends.
"I knew Bobby when he was running around with his long hair beating his little sister up.
"But I went round for dinner and Tracey put her hands on my shoulders and told me not to worry, she said she was glad he was with me."
Bobby has been having hormone treatment for two years and is awaiting surgery he needs to become a man.
He said: "I've always felt like this, it just comes naturally to me, I always knew what I wanted to be.
"I got a bit of stick at school, I was called a lesbian, a transvestite and a freak. "But with a bit of explaining it became more easy for people to understand.
"Puberty was a struggle but with mum's support I got through it quite smoothly - she told me never to lie and just be honest.
"I had to stand up for myself or I would get bullied. "I would be fighting almost every other day and my mum was at school every other week.
"I tried to control my anger but I came to a point where I thought, 'I'm not taking it any more, I will have to man up or I'm going to get bullied for the rest of my life'.
"Other kids knew not to mess with me. People said, 'You have got bottle - you have got courage'. I just want people to stop the hating."
The couple have now had each other's names tattooed on their wrists ahead of their wedding.