Carmen Carrera has laid her personal life bare in a new interview, which sees her holding nothing back - even when it comes to intimate details about her sex life.
The 30-year-old model, who rose to fame as a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, is smashing preconceptions about transgender dating ahead of an appearance on the sixth season of VH1's Couples Therapy With Dr. Jenn, where she and her husband will be airing out plenty of the personal details of their relationship.
And the model has also revealed just what it's like to be trans in the dating world - dealing with everything from secretive partners to being used for sex.
Putting it out there: Transgender model and former RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Carmen Carrera, 30, dishes on what it's like to date as a trans woman in a new interview
Airing out the dirty laundry: Carmen and her husband of eight years Adrian Torres (right) will be appearing on the sixth season of VH1's Couples Therapy With Dr. Jenn
The New Jersey native, who has been published in the likes of Elle, W, and Glamour UK, has been married to her husband Adrian Torres for eight years.
The couple have been going through a 'rough patch' according to the star, separated for more than a year as a result of infidelity on both sides.
'Everybody goes through [rough patches] in their relationships. Regardless of whether you're in a gay or heterosexual relationship, you’re going to go through your ups and downs,' she told Refinery29 on her decision to join the show.
'So I figured, let me share my story. I figured I’m strong enough to deal with any ignorance if it does come up. I signed onto it, and my husband did, too.'
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Trouble in paradise: The couple split over a year ago after problems with infidelity on both sides
Taking the leap: Carmen decided to share her and her husband's story because 'regardless of whether you're in a gay or heterosexual relationship, you’re going to go through your ups and downs'
On board: Despite their issues and occasional abuse received from strangers, Carmen and Adrian both signed on to discuss their issues on the show
In her new interview with the publication, Carmen also discusses issues facing trans women in the dating world - in everything from gender preferences to sex.
First she hit out at those that 'misgender' trans women by assuming that any man who dates them 'must be gay'.
'That means you see me as a man, not as a woman,' she explained.
A more widely-relatable problem she has also encountered is being kept a secret by a partner, whether that be as a trans woman or as a gay man, which is how she identified before undergoing her transition.
'When you have something good and you can’t share it, it sucks,' she said.
Struggling through: Carmen told Refinery29 that she is offended when people assume any man that dates her must be gay because 'that means you see me as a man, not as a woman'
Staying proud: Carmen also tells of being hurt when partners - both before and after her transition - kept her a secret from friends and family
Used: Carmen revealed that as a trans woman she has been 'led on a lot' by men who 'will still want to have sex with you, but just not take you seriously after that'
Lastly, Carmen details the heartbreaking experience that she and many other trans women have endured by men who are willing to use them for their physical appearance but were unwilling to accept them for who they are.
'I can tell you this much from my experience with men: [If you're trans] they will still want to have sex with you, but just not take you seriously after that... You get led on a lot,' she said.
She added that she believes the motivation behind this is that trans women can be more vulnerable and therefore preyed on easily by men who want to bed a beautiful woman, but know that 'if you were born biologically female it would be much harder for them to get in there'.
In terms of her own dating habits, Carmen also revealed that she prefers to hide the fact that she is transgender from prospective dates because she would 'rather get to know someone first before I tell them'.
Setting her own standards: She claims that men will prey on the vulnerability of trans woman because they know that 'if you were born biologically female it would be much harder for them to get in there'
Aiming high: The model was recently the subject of a petition to be the first transgender model to walk the Victoria's Secret runway. 50,000 have signed
Carmen has long been a barrier buster when it comes to the visibility of transgender people in fashion, having been the firstly openly trans contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race.
The model also recently threw her name into the hat to be the first transgender model to walk the Victoria's Secret runway, and a petition for the appointment already has 50,000 signatures.
The star later made a statement regarding the petition: 'I want to do this for the 50,000 people who signed the petition on Change.org,' she told Time in a recent interview. 'I want to do this for, of course, me and my career. I’m a show girl at heart.'
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