Transgender couple speak out after both undergo gender reassignment surgeries

'I’ve always liked women, and loved women, even as a female, because I’ve always deep down known that I was a straight male'

Arin and Katie on BBC 3's Young, Trans and Looking for Love (BBC 3)

America's first openly trans-teen couple have been speaking about their relationship after both underwent gender reassignment surgeries.

Arin Andrews, 19 and Katie Hill, 21, gained internet popularity after posting videos online that inspired thousands of other young transgender people.

The pair first appeared online as a couple in 2012, after they met at a transgender support group in Oklahoma.

They are the subject of a new BBC 3 programme, called Young, Trans and Looking for Love, which follows their lives and relationship as they both went through gender transitions.​

Arin had been born and lived as a girl named Emerald - during which time he was a serial beauty pageant winner - until the age of 12.

He then decided to take all of the trophies he won at the pageants out of his room as they no longer meant anything to him.

At the age of 17, he underwent breast-removal surgery- which he said was the best decision he had made.

“I’ve always liked women, and loved women, even as a female, because I’ve always deep down known that I was a straight male”, he said.

Katie’s original gender was male, when she was known as Luke. She had full gender reassignment surgery, transitioning to a woman at the age of 18 - at a cost of $40,000.

“It’s become so normal for me to become a woman, to be a normal woman in everyday life” she says in the programme.

The couple can be seen happily spending time at the beach and going boating together in swimwear, proud of their new bodies.

The BBC 3 programme also meets other transgender teenagers and explores the world of dating as a transgender person.

Arin and Katie have since broken up, but remain close friends.