A transgender woman who was born with half a body and struggled for years to find love now enjoys a 'wonderful sex life' with her boyfriend.

Piyah Martell, 27, from Sacramento, California, was born with a rare congenital birth defect known as sacral agenesis.

The abnormality affects the lower vertebrae, meaning Piyah's spine and legs did not develop fully in the womb and her body appears to stop at her waist.

As well as walking on her hands, Piyah uses a skateboard as a mobility aide, and spends her time raising awareness of issues around disability in the LGBTQ+ community.

Piyah Martell, 27, from Sacramento, California, who was born with a rare congenital birth defect known as sacral agenesis, has found love with boyfriend Andrew

Andrew says the pair enjoy a 'wonderful sex life', while Piyah hopes to have life-changing surgery in the future to complete her transition from male to female

Originally born as Pedro, at the age of 15 she announced to her parents that she wanted to start dressing as a girl.

She began buying women's outfits and wearing make-up - initially facing angry criticism from her father.

Piyah told Barcroft TV: 'My dad was not very happy with my decision. It took him years to finally start calling me by my name; he used to call me by my old name.

'He didn't want his son to be a woman. It took him a year, we had arguments about that.

'It was hard for him but gradually later he learned that this isn't a phase.'

Piyah conceded that growing up was challenging, having lost her real mother at the tender age of seven, and said she faced severe bullying and judgment during her teens for being different.

'Going to high school was where a lot of bullying happened,' she recalled.

'Some of the difficulties in school was having to deal with people talking behind my back. They were rude, and called me names, saying, "You have no legs, you are an amputee."

Piyah's condition affects the lower vertebrae, meaning her spine and legs did not develop fully in the womb and her body appears to stop at her waist

Andrew admitted he faces judgment every day, but claimed he doesn't care what people think

The happy couple say despite Piyah's birth defect, their physical relationship is incredibly healthy

'I am just like, "Oh dear", pushing all those mean people away.'

Piyah said her mother Mary treated her exactly the same as her brother Angelo, 29, despite her disability, and this made her strong and determined.

Her condition is so rare it is thought to affect less than one in every million people.

Piyah has had to adapt her daily routine to live as normal a life as possible, explaining: 'My disability affects me outside of my house because I have to use a skateboard to get around.

'I have my nice little shoes that I wear inside and out of the house so that I don't hurt my hands.

'I always make sure either I have gloves, slippers or some type of things on my hands to keep myself safe.'

Piyah admitted she found it difficult to meet someone who could accept her - but six years ago Andrew entered her life.

'My first impression of him was – what am I getting myself into?' she joked.

'But then he has this charm. He had this charm that I was really attracted to.

'Just like every normal couple we fight, we argue, we bicker, but we always end up together and we make it work. That's the thing about relationships, we communicate.'

Piyah said her late mother Mary, pictured left, treated her exactly the same as her brother Angelo, 29, pictured right, despite her disability, and this made her strong and determined

Piyah admitted she found it difficult to meet someone who could accept her - but six years ago Andrew entered her life

Piyah has had to adapt her daily routine to live as normal a life as possible, and said she loves applying make-up

Her partner Andrew admitted he faces judgment every day, but claimed he doesn't care what people think.

'I thought she is a very beautiful girl,' he said. 'She is sweet. She is nice, she is just wonderful. She just brightens up the day, every day.'

The happy couple say despite Piyah's birth defect, their physical relationship is incredibly healthy.

'It's not a challenge,' Andrew explained. 'Me and Piyah have a wonderful sex life. I see life as wonderful.'

Piyah hopes to have life-changing surgery in the future to complete her transition from male to female.

Up until three years ago, Piyah regularly posted clips of herself performing music videos of songs by divas like Mariah Carey and Beyonce on YouTube, and built up a loyal following of 10,326 subscribers on YouTube.