Popular YouTuber and makeup artist Nikkie de Jager, known online as NikkieTutorials, has announced she is a transgender woman in an emotional coming-out video.
The 25-year-old Dutch social media personality shared her story with her 12.5 million subscribers for the first time on Monday (local time), saying she began filming YouTube makeup tutorials towards the end of her transition.
"When I was younger, I was born in the wrong body, which means I'm transgender. Filming this video is so scary, but it's so liberating and freeing," de Jager said.
"Growing up, I think the number one thing I'm the most thankful for is my mum... she has been there for me since day one. She has always supported me, always accepted me. And that is everything you need as a kid."
The 25-year-old revealed that she knew she was a girl from childhood, identifying as a female from the age of six. She started hormones at 14, using "growth stoppers" to prevent her getting taller. She fully transitioned to a woman at the age of 19.
"Some kids got it and other kids in my class did not, which is fine... but I will always be so thankful for all the teachers at that school who supported my journey and supported me."
De Jager admitted that she is working through the situation privately with her fiancé, Dylan, who she called "the most kind-hearted man". The couple got engaged in August 2019.
"I am me. I am still Nikkie. Nothing changes about that. The last thing I want in my life is for you to not trust me anymore, or to look at me with different eyes, or look at me in a different manner, or think that I have changed.
"This feels liberating and freeing, but I, at the end of the day, am still Nikkie."
