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They say every woman marries a man like her father.

But for Lleahan Perry that proved particularly true... because her dad and her husband are both having sex change operations.

Lleahan was 15 when stepfather Stephen confessed he liked cross-dressing.

Three years later the ex-sailor started living as a woman, taking hormones and calling himself Helen.

Supportive Lleahan welcomed the change – pleased her dad was no longer living a lie.

But months later she was stunned when fiancé Christopher Parent revealed he also wanted to live as a woman.

In a three-hour heart-to-heart, Lleahan’s dad helped 22-year-old Christopher come to terms with his feelings.

And now Christopher, called ChiChi by the family, and Helen are both planning to go through gender ­reassignment surgery.

But before having the op, Lleahan, 21, and ChiChi decided to marry. They tied the knot at a ceremony in France this month and are expecting their first baby in November.

(Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)

Lleahan, born in Piddlehinton, Dorset, but now living in Limoges, France, explains: “It was a beautiful ceremony. We had a massive party with all our friends and family.

“Only a very few people know about ChiChi’s transition so we decided he would dress as a man.

“But he was jealous of my dress. I knew he wanted to wear it.

“He’s much happier now he’s started to come out and dress as his alter ego more often. Our sex life hasn’t suffered at all.

“I’m attracted to men and women so I don’t mind. I just accept everything these days. You are the way you are.”

Lleahan credits her open-minded ­attitude to helping Stephen come to terms with his gender crisis.

She was five when her mum and step-dad met. In 2003 the family moved to France to be nearer her grandparents.

When she was 13, Lleahan began to suspect Stephen was different.

She says: “I remember thinking ‘Is my dad a girl?’ I know it sounds weird but we’ve always been incredibly close and he raised me to be who I am.”

Two years later Lleahan finally persuaded her dad to confide in her. She says said: “He became very secretive on the computer and I thought he was having an affair.

“I was sick of not knowing what was going on, so I ­confronted him and he admitted he liked to dress as a woman.

“He showed me all his stuff in the wardrobe and told me he’d been like it his whole life.

“I can’t say it didn’t take me by surprise but my dad is my dad and nothing can come between us.”

Stephen, 45, who served 10 years as a Royal Navy engineer, says: “I dressed up from the age of six so I’d been carrying the secret for a long time. I confided in Lleahan because we were incredibly close but I never found the courage to tell her mum.”

After three years he had a breakdown and came clean about his feelings to his wife. The marriage broke down but Stephen stayed close to Lleahan, who encouraged his transition to Helen.

In 2011 Helen began living as a woman full time, changing her name by deed poll and taking female hormones.

Around the same time Lleahan met Christopher through friends.

Despite having instant chemistry and lots in common, she felt he was hiding something. She reveals: “I fell in love but I never felt he was totally open.

“Alarm bells started going off when he dressed as a woman for a role-reversal party. He looked at himself in the mirror and asked ‘Why am I not a woman?’ I knew he wasn’t joking. He looked so comfortable. It reminded me of dad.”

So care worker Lleahan called on her father for help to encourage Christopher to come to terms with his feelings.

She says: “I brought him round for dinner with dad and she just came right out and asked if he was trans.

“Christopher admitted he was and the pair spent the next three hours talking about the process of transitioning from male to female.” For Christopher, who works for the local tourist board, it was a major turning point.

He says: “I’d known I was in the wrong body from an early age. But when I met Lleahan I was only 19 and confused.

“I loved her but it took me a while to open up as I didn’t know who I could trust.

“It really helped being able to speak to Lleahan and Helen about my feelings. I knew I didn’t want to become any manlier.

“At that time my body was very smooth and I hated the idea of growing body and facial hair.

“Helen encouraged me to speak openly and do what made me happy.

“I’m so grateful to both of them. They’ve accepted me and taught me that it was OK to be myself.”

And for Helen, saving someone from the lifetime of secrecy was incredible.

She says: “I knew as soon as I met Christopher that he was trans.

“I’d been through it myself so I knew all the signs. I was pleased to be able to help him come to terms with it.

“I wish I’d had someone like that when I was younger.”

Meanwhile, far from being fazed by the revelation her boyfriend wanted to be a woman, Lleahan, took it in her stride. She says: “I told him I’d love him no matter what. It’s the person I love.”

From that night, Christopher started dressing up more and now the couple, along with Helen, enjoy shopping trips and nights out together.

Lleahan adds: “I love going out with both of them. It’s like a night out with the girls.

“I also love that I can go shopping with ChiChi.”

The couple, who became engaged in September 2011, were thrilled to discover Lleahan was pregnant in February this year.

She says: “We had an agreement that before he started hormone therapy we would have a child but we didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

“The baby is due in November and we couldn’t be happier. ChiChi is so excited to be a papa.”

The couple are still deciding whether to have another child before ChiChi starts gender reassignment surgery.

Meanwhile, Helen, who has found love with partner Tracie, 47, is hoping to have her operation in October.

She says: “Transitioning takes some time and I am a bit further on in my journey than ChiChi.

They have only just married and have a little one on the way. They are still working things out between themselves.”

For Helen, there’s no question of how amazing her daughter is.

She says: “Lleahan has been a true inspiration and a shining example of the way most young people are beginning to feel.

“I am so happy now and living the life I was meant to have. And that’s all thanks to my incredible daughter.”

It might be an unusual situation but, as Lleahan says: “I guess it is strange when you think about it.

“My dad is trans and so is my husband. But it works for us.”