Lauren Harries: 'I was raped weeks after undergoing gender reassignment surgery'

Lauren Harries has opened up about the trauma she suffered just weeks after undergoing gender reassignment surgery in 2001, revealing that she was raped after meeting a man in a bar.

The former child star has opened up about the years of bullying and assault that occurred after she transitioned from male to female, which led to severe depression and even heartbreaking suicide attempts.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Lauren opened up about the rape, sharing: “It was very traumatic – straight after surgery. I was lonely and I was in a bar and met a nice-looking man who paid me lots of compliments.

“He said he had heard me on the radio and that I was very brave.

“He introduced me to his wife. I thought they were just fans. I ended up drinking with them – I was lonely and vulnerable. At the end of the evening, the man took me back to my hotel and raped me.

“I never reported it to the police – I never thought it would do any good. I suppose I thought they might think I had asked for it. Admittedly, I did not always make the best choices after my transition.

“I went out on my own to test myself and at times it was quite brutal. But it made me realise that I should concentrate on my career and not be out searching for Mr Right.”

Three years after the assault, in 2005, the Celebrity Big Brother star was attacked when she was out with her family in their Welsh hometown.

Lauren revealed that a gang of men threw bricks through their windows and shouted vile transphobic insults, bravely explaining: “It was horrible and frightening.

“We had bricks lobbed through every window of our house and we had death threats. We had about five or six years of hate thrown at us.”

Despite all of the heartache, Lauren insists that she has no regrets about transitioning because she felt “trapped” as a boy and has been able to enjoy a new life after being “reborn” as a woman.