Marcos Arruda cut Karen’s hair long before imagining that they would get married.
He worked as a hairstylist. He had begun having relationships with men at 16 and openly acknowledged his homosexuality at 19. Amid very difficult crises, he says he was in a car accident in which his vehicle was destroyed, but he escaped unharmed.
Years later, he recalled an experience at a church that, according to him, marked the beginning of a profound change.
Karen, for her part, talks about a difficult childhood: she says she was abused at the age of five. At 13, she spoke with her family about her relationships with other women, and at 15, she began identifying as a transgender man. She said she had a spiritual experience while alone in her room, a moment she considers decisive.
Some time later, they reconnected online. At first, they were friends; then, they began a relationship. They got married, and Karen says the hormone treatment she had received made it difficult for her to get pregnant and that she lost her first baby. They persevered, and today they celebrate their son, Paulo Emanuel.
“Our story isn’t about perfection. It’s about transformation, grace, and starting over,” they say.