Walang pagsisisi si Angie King mula nang siya ay mag-come out bilang trans woman noong 2016.
Read: Joey Mead's husband Ian King is now a trans woman
Ayon kay Angie, walang katumbas na kaligayahan ang kanyang nararamdaman hanggang ngayon dahil tinanggap siya ng lipunan.
Pahayag niya sa vlog ng broadcaster na si Julius Babao na lumabas noong Linggo, March 26, 2023: “Weirdly enough, when I came out, I did the Ferrari Racing International and I won.
“And then I got to do so many more things now that I can focus on my life, and it’s funny though because I didn’t think that it was gonna be this good.”
Pero inamin ni Angie na nakahanda na ang plano niya noong umalis ng Pilipinas at tumira sa ibang bansa sakaling hindi matanggap ng publiko na isa siyang miyembro ng LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community.
Batid daw kasi niyang maraming celebrities ang hindi umaamin dahil sa bashing.
Saad ni Angie, “And I was ready to leave the country and move to the U.K. or move to another country because a lot of the trans individuals who are celebrities, locally, they get so much sh*t online.
“They get bashed online, they get hated. And why? So, natakot ako.
"So the fact of the matter, since we’re scared and, yeah, may backup plan na tayo na aalis ako.
"But things were tough, we got love and support, adoration pa nga, and I’m still here and life’s a b*tch.”
MARRIED LIFE
Nitong nakaraang February 2023, ipinagdiwang ni Angie at asawa nitong si Joey Mead ang kanilang ika-17 anibersaryo.
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Ano ng dynamics ng kanilang pagsasama?
Saad ni Angie, “The basis of any good relationship is communication and conscious talking.
“So, being able to hear what you’re saying and sort of retranslate it back to make sure that we understand each other on the same topic or issue at hand.
“I always have this mentality na I ask her out on dates or dinner tayo or movie tayo or just keeping the fun part of dating alive.
“Hindi yung, we’re married, we’re just going to stay home and watch TV, so boring. So we always plan our vacations also especially now that it’s open.
“We like going to Boracay, we like going to Japan, where we just came from.
“So, yeah, we plan events, we plan things that we both love doing.
“And also there’s moments that we all think we should do our own things, like I go to the States this month and I’m gonna build a car.
“In between, she used to live in L.A. so she loves being in L.A., so it works both ways for us.”
WOMAN-TO-WOMAN RELATIONSHIP
Sa mga nakaraang panayam ni Angie, sinabi niyang isinilang siyang lalaki ngunit ngayon ay namumuhay na siya bilang babae.
Paano ang relasyon niya sa asawang si Joey na isa ring babae?
Paliwanag ni Angie, “Well, you know, the relationship is based on connection. It’s not based on gender.
“And that’s why you have mixed gender relationships. And we made the point where at that turning point, asked the question, I have to set those combinations down so that we can continue to be together.
“Joey compliments me in a way that it makes work well with her in my life. That's how our relationship grows.”
July 2, 2016 nang isapubliko ni Ian Angelo King ang kanyang pagiging trans woman.
Taong 2017, pumayag ang dalawa na magpa-interview sa isang cable channel tungkol sa kanilang relasyon.
Bakit natagalan silang ilantad ang naging set-up nila bilang mag-asawa?
Paliwanag ni Joey, “When Angie came out, there were several offers.
"Working in television, I just kind of knew that it didn’t feel right... It had to be done a certain way.
“We didn’t want to be exploited.”
Ipinakita sa TV special na may pamagat na The Kings ang isang grupo na gustong pagsamantalahan ang sitwasyon ng mag-asawa.
Inamin din nina Angie at Joey na pumayag silang isapubliko ang kanilang sitwasyon para sa isang magandang proyekto.
Saad ni Angie, “We’re not making any money from this. We waived our talent fee… I mean, we’re doing this to get the word out, get the message out.”
Ano ang nais nilang mensaheng ipabatid sa publiko sa kanilang paglantad?
Sagot ni Joey, “Positivity… That’s hopefully what the audience gets out of it.
"That it’s not really a big deal, is it? It’s not that strange… [our
relationship] can work for anybody.”
Inamin ni Angie ang hirap na pinagdaanan niya simula noong siya’y lumantad bilang trans woman.
Saad niya, “The hardest part of doing something like this and putting myself out there is not having privacy anymore… It’s tricky because I want to live a normal life but now I’m sort of the poster child for this topic.”
Aminado naman si Joey na nahirapan din siya noong una sa kanilang sitwayson.
Aniya, “It was really hard… the last two years was hard… but I’m glad I went through that.
“And if it wasn’t for our family’s support and counseling and spiritual awareness [we wouldn’t have worked things out].”
“I mean, hello, of course it’s hard… if you say, ‘I don’t want this, this is not for me,’ you’ve made a decision. But the thing is, I want her. I want to make this work.”