when i was allegedly a woman i was briefly married to a cis guy before coming out as a lesbian and getting a divorce. my now ex-husband, a genuine sweetheart of a man, was very kind about it all and we remain good friends.
twenty-five (!) years later I came out as a trans man.
now. the important thing to know about my ex-husband is that he loves nothing more than 1) horrible puns, preferably bilingual ones; 2) terrible dad jokes; and 3) committing to the bit until the end of time. he absolutely lives for Shenanigans and Japery. i do not know how his long-suffering wife puts up with him, but they've been married for more than 20 years so presumably she manages.
so, to break the news to my ex, i texted him. the exchange went something like this:
me: "great news, i'm a trans guy now"
him: "oh, congrats!"
me: "thank you. now for the better news: I insist you refer to me henceforth only as your ex-husband. do you accept this challenge?"
and my cis, straight-as-an-arrow, lives-in-the-midwest, married-to-a-minister ex-husband was like
AND HE DOES! gleefully and completely straight-faced, as I understand it. confuses the hell out of everyone, none more than cishet conservative people who've known us both for decades and know for a fact he's only been married twice. I hope he never explains.
