'I came out at 40 after being married to a man for 11 years'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

For the duration of her marriage, Nicola Chan never really felt like herself – and she couldn’t figure out why. The mum-of-two spent years feeling “trapped” in her relationship before an online therapy programme changed the course of her life forever.

The 40-year-old had been studying to become a body confidence coach when she began having moments of realisation. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. Reflecting on her life, not only did fitness fanatic Nicola realise she no longer wanted to be married – she also began questioning her own body confidence and sexuality.

The epiphany led to the mum calling it quits on her marriage after 11 years. Having spent almost three years single, Nicola is now in a relationship with a woman, her girlfriend Rafaela – saying she’s never felt so free. “As the layers were peeled away, more and more of me was being revealed,” the mum, from Liverpool, told the Manchester Evening News. “I thought, ‘Oh my god, how long have I felt like that?’ “I was always attracted to women, but I suppose I suppressed it.

It goes way, way back, but it was suppressed. “I felt like I wasn’t myself. All the sexuality stuff was coming up and I thought, ‘I need to figure out who I am.