They made quite the impression on ITV viewers during their short-lived stint on The Cabins - and Richie Worrall's phone has been blowing up ever since.
The 25-year-old nursing assistant from Burton-On-Trent stole the hearts of viewers on the much-loved dating show which sees contestants check into a cabin with their 'match' for 24 hours, before deciding whether they would like to spend more time together or call it a day.
Richie, who went on the show with an 'open-mind' in the hope of finding a spark, sadly had to call time on their stay in the cabin when their love interest, George, realised that he wasn't quite ready to get serious after a recent breakup.
Despite only staying in the cabin for 24 hours and knowing George for the same amount of time, Richie captured viewers when they opened up about their gender and identity struggles during one of the many deep conversations with their match.
Richie, who was born a boy, revealed that they transitioned into a woman for over 12 months a number of years ago because at the time, they felt they were in the wrong body.
However, after a harrowing realisation when they started growing breasts, Richie realised that they may have made the wrong decision after they became 'scared' of their changing body.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Mirror, the brave reality TV star admitted that for a long time, they didn't particularly 'feel male or female' and trying to conform to one gender or the other, caused them immense heartache and mental turmoil.
Lifting the lid on their transition, Richie revealed: "The main reason I began transitioning was because I couldn’t accept the feminine parts of Richie. So, I thought, well no gay guy is ever going to want me, so let me become this sexy attractive woman and I’ll have all the straight guys instead.
"My journey was totally impulsive, rushed and uninformed. Therapy is an absolute must before any kind of gender transition.
"I had no therapy prior to transition, and I purchased my hormones on the internet. I felt helpless and totally lost. I never want anyone to feel like I did."
Richie went on to detail the defining moment when they knew that living a life as a woman wasn't meant for them.
After they began to grow breasts, Richie - who went as Mila at the time - didn't recognise or relate to the person they had become and the person who was looking back at them in the mirror.
"My body quickly started to change once I started the hormone therapy. My skin was softer, my thighs were bigger and my waist started to curve, just like a woman’s," they explained.
"My chest was so sore and started forming the shape of breasts. I started to wake up some days feeling just like the old Richie, and as my body was changing, what I was seeing in the mirror didn’t reflect who I was on the inside anymore.
"I can only imagine that this is how an actual transgender person feels when they look in the mirror - total mismatch of how you feel and what you’re seeing looking back at you. I started to feel scared of my chest, and started sleeping with a jumper on because I couldn’t bear to look at my new boobs.
"I was so confused because I’d started this journey, and I was blending into society being seen as a female, and no one ever batted an eyelid."
Richie went on to reveal that at first, it felt easier being a woman than a gay man.
But as their body continued to change and the further they got lost in themselves, they realised that the transition wasn't right for them.
"At times I blended so well, that it was easier being Mila than it ever was being the gay guy Richie. The gay taunts down the street stopped, and instead cat calls from straight men started," Richie explained.
"In a way, I felt safer and like I was no longer standing out, waiting to be called some gay insult. But deep in my soul I knew that something wasn’t quite right with this path I was going down.
"After some time, I found myself not wanting to try and blend in as a female anymore. I didn’t want to do the feminine things that I thought women had to do (they don’t have to).
"I didn’t hate my genitals at all, and I missed my old face. I missed how people used to treat me, and I felt like I was watching my life unfold from the back row of a cinema. I didn’t feel like me at all."
It was then that Richie realised he identified as non-binary, or in their own words, just 'me'.
"That’s when I discovered that I don’t actually feel like one or the other. Some days I wake up feeling masculine, some days I wake up feeling ultra feminine. That combined with me starting to hate my new female body, I knew I had to stop," they explained.
"I came off hormones cold turkey, which is a ridiculous and dangerous thing to do. I scrambled around in my soul to find the parts of myself that I’d lost and left behind.
"I had to come face-to-face with the parts of myself that I had loathed for years, and try to accept this new found fluid identity.
"5 years on, after a lot of therapy and being kind to myself, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I love the person that I am, and find it heartbreaking to think I hated him for so long."
After bravely telling their story on national TV, Richie is now hoping that their experience will help someone else out there who finds themselves in the same position as they once were.
"Now that my personal story is out there, I’ll definitely continue to try and be an open book for anyone that is curious or confused about their gender identity. I’ll never try to push any personal experiences or views on anyone, I’d just like to be there as guidance for people that want to talk to someone about how they’re feeling," Riche told.
"Early stages of questioning your gender identity are absolutely terrifying. Especially if you’re like me, and didn’t necessarily feel totally male, or totally female. Whatever that is supposed to feel like.
"It’s all so confusing, and I’d be so happy if I helped someone from experiencing the loneliness and pain that I went through."
For support with the issues mentioned in this story, please visit, here, for more details.
The Cabins: Out of the Woods airs Saturday at 9.30pm on ITV2 and ITV Hub.
