Pretty Cody Harman looked every inch the perfect bride, but there was something hidden behind the smiling exterior.

Cody wasn’t filled with joy at the prospect of becoming a wife and only walked down the aisle because he was too frightened of how people would react to the truth – that he was transgender and believed he should have been born male.

Seven years on, Cody has transitioned – transforming himself from blushing bride into a hunky bodybuilder complete with a rippling six-pack.

Cody, 30, from California admits: “I knew I was doing the wrong thing by getting married – but I didn’t know how to tell everyone.

“I’m so much happier than I ever imagined I could be now that I’m living as a man.

“I can’t believe how different I feel both mentally and physically.

“I’ve always been into fitness and now I’ve got the body I’ve always wanted. When I meet people I haven’t seen in a while they struggle to believe it’s really me.

Cody, a chef, has been recording his transition on his YouTube channel ‘Cody_Talks’ to help others, and says that as a child he always felt like a boy.

By the time he started high school, Cody found the female changes that came with growing up incredibly tough.

He said: “Watching my body change through puberty was hard – I hated it and just wanted to be one of the boys. I was lucky I was petite and didn’t have prominent curves

“I also knew I was attracted to girls but because my parents were very religious they made me think it was a sin, so I dated guys instead.”

At 20-years-old, Cody, who was always a UK size six before taking up bodybuilding, met his construction-worker husband through an internet dating site.

Cody said: “It seemed like everyone was getting married and I wanted to fit in.

“I met up with Adam* and we got on well.

“My upbringing was very religious so I was worried that people would realise I was gay if I didn’t have a husband.”

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After a year of dating, Cody and Adam got married in 2008 with a traditional wedding.

Cody said: “I thought something must be wrong with me because I didn’t have any romantic feeling towards Adam.

“Even on our wedding day I felt uncomfortable in my wedding dress – though I pretended to be happy.

“Although I knew marriage was meant to be for life, I didn’t consider the future or the possibility of children. I was just going through the motions – I didn’t really know what love was.

“After our wedding day, we moved to Germany, where Adam was based, I tried to make it work, but I was just desperately unhappy.

“I just wasn’t the person I was meant to be. I used to run for eight miles per day to cope.”

In 2011, Cody moved back to his hometown in California, where he decided to start studying at a cookery school in the hope that starting a new career would help him.

He said: “I told Adam I would come back once the two-year course was over but our marriage fell apart and we divorced.”

Once back in the US, Cody decided the only way he could be happy was to stop supressing his true feelings.

So in 2012, Cody told his family and friends he was a lesbian and a year later, told them he was transgender.

He said: “I waited to tell them I was transgender because I thought it would be too much for them to cope with.

“I don’t know when I realised it myself – it’s just something I’d always known.

“My mum cried at first, but now she’s happy for me. I also met a great community of people online and I realised that I wasn’t alone.

In 2014, Cody underwent a mastectomy and started talking male hormones prescribed by a doctor.

Around this time, he also got heavily into his fitness regime and started doing a lot of Crossfit as well as running.

After after undergoing a hysterectomy the following year, Cody started lightweight training – as he was advised that it would be better for his recovery than running.

Cody says: “Working on my strength made me feel more masculine and my muscles grew quickly.

“I fell in love with it and in October 2016, I decided to enter my first Female to Male Transgender bodybuilding competition.

“I was training six times per week for two hours and ate a protein rich diet with lots of chicken and vegetables.

“I was incredibly nervous but all my hard work paid off and I came second.”

Now, Cody hopes to become a personal trainer and to provide online coaching as well as support to others who want to get their dream body.

He adds: “Transitioning has been a huge lesson of patience.

“The same goes for working out. Celebrate the journey, as long as you show up and put in the work, you will get there.

“Time is going to pass anyway; you might as well spend it working towards your goals. Keep going.”

In June this year, Cody will go through the final stages of gender reassignment and undergo a phalloplasty (construction of a penis).

Once recovered, Cody, who is single, hopes he will find love.

He says: “I’ve had a few short relationships with women since becoming a man but I’d love something more long-term.

“But right now, I’m happier than ever.

“My message to others is that life is too short – you only get one chance. Don’t give up.

“I let fear take over my life and now I will never do that again.”

For more information go to Cody's YouTube channel.

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