Former Home And Away star Mat Stevenson has made a special appearance on The Sunday Project, with his transgender daughter Grace Hyland by his side.
The pair sat down for a candid chat with host Lisa Wilkinson, where they both revealed the journey they have been on while Grace has transitioned
For as long as she can remember, Grace has identified as being a female.
“As young as like maybe four or five, just really feeling that I was a girl and I couldn’t explain it,” the 20-year-old said.
“And I just thought I was weird or destined for a life of unhappiness.”
But when she turned 12, she found the courage to come out and went through a gradual transition.
“I’d grow my hair out, get my name change sorted, sort out my blockers and then by the time I was fourteen, I was fully presenting as Grace to the public and at school.”
RELATED: Star’s first selfie since trans reveal
Lisa asked actor Mat, who played Adam Cameron in Home And Away across more than 500 episodes in the 90s, what the impact was when Grace changed her name and started wearing girl’s clothes.
“So, it was a little awkward at first now calling Grace sweetheart instead of mate. Really, I guess feminising my approach,” he said.
“As a bloke, it was pretty awkward to go to my male friendship group and say my son’s now my daughter, but then I look at the challenges and the difficulty of sharing that in comparison with the challenges that Grace sailed through and they pale into insignificance,” he added.
“What was their reaction?” Lisa asked.
“I mean, some of my mates were pretty seamless, they got it. Some just couldn’t get it. Some really struggled with the concept. I’m a member of the local cricket club, I remember one of the boys came up to me, and said ‘Stevo, I just, I don’t get it mate. I just don’t get it.’ And I said, ‘It’s OK buddy, you don’t have to get it, all I’m asking you to do is love my daughter and show some empathy’. He goes, ‘Yeah, I can do that’.”
During the pair’s emotional interview, Grace said she is “truly so lucky” to have had her father’s support.
“And it also helps, having some amazing women in my life and I really think that I do need to acknowledge the strength and courage of my mum, of my wife and Grace’s sister,” Mat said.
The 20-year-old said she told her stepmum first because she really could see there was something going on.
“I wrote it down on a post-it note because I was too scared to actually say that I was actually a transgender woman,” she told Lisa.
“But she was so supportive, and she really helped me navigate telling everyone. So she told my dad, she actually went over to my mum’s and sat her down and told her about everything that I had said.”
Grace then started on testosterone blockers which is an injection that stops the production of testosterone to prevent the development of male changes.
“If you let someone who identifies as trans, go through the wrong puberty, they have to live with certain body characteristics that they can never get rid of. And that can be debilitating,” she explained, adding that because of this suicide rates are high.
“So, this isn’t something that’s taken lightly and as dramatic as it may sound, if I was forced to go through a male puberty, I genuinely don’t think I would still be here. It would have destroyed me.”
Mat said that sadly in Australia, there is a really high adolescent suicide rate.
“It’s a tragedy and trans-adolescents are thirty-six times more likely to self-harm, commit suicide and there’s a distinct correlation between lack of support and self-harm.”
The former actor said for him, being dad to Grace is his greatest role by far.
However, the one thing he struggles with the most, is the hurtful comments some people make about his daughter.
Grace explained that when she opened up about being trans in a TikTok video with her 132,000 followers, “it just absolutely blew up”, with Mat recalling one particular response.
He said the comment was about how Grace will “never being a woman” and that she should harm herself.
“And I really struggle with that … when people make comments like that to courageous people who are trying to navigate their identity, it’s like a loaded gun.”
Despite the nasty comments, Grace said she is in “such a good place” that she could not care less.
She said for those in a similar position, it is “OK to feel how you feel”.
“You don’t have to know all of the answers straight away. These things do take time.
“And then for parents who are scared for their child’s future, just know that with your support. They can have such a happy life, but they really do need your support.”
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2021-01-17 09:18:41Z
CBMivgFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9lbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50L2NlbGVicml0eS1saWZlL2hvbWUtYW5kLWF3YXktYWN0b3ItbWF0LXN0ZXZlbnNvbi1hbmQtdHJhbnNnZW5kZXItZGF1Z2h0ZXItZ3JhY2UtaHlsYW5kLW9uLXRoZS1zdW5kYXktcHJvamVjdC9uZXdzLXN0b3J5L2FjMWI3ZTQwNWRiZjA3MzlkZWEyNmNjYmQ0ODBlNTQy0gG-AWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLm5ld3MuY29tLmF1L2VudGVydGFpbm1lbnQvY2VsZWJyaXR5LWxpZmUvaG9tZS1hbmQtYXdheS1hY3Rvci1tYXQtc3RldmVuc29uLWFuZC10cmFuc2dlbmRlci1kYXVnaHRlci1ncmFjZS1oeWxhbmQtb24tdGhlLXN1bmRheS1wcm9qZWN0L25ld3Mtc3RvcnkvYWMxYjdlNDA1ZGJmMDczOWRlYTI2Y2NiZDQ4MGU1NDI
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