No one can judge those who spend their hard-earned money to achieve the look that they want. But how far can you go to change who you are?

Fulvia Pellegrino kept the truth from everyone for forty years. Even though she was born with a male body, Pellegrino always felt like a woman. She never felt comfortable with the transition until she got married.

Fulvia, who used to go by the name Fulvio, has been working hard to change her gender with the full support of her partner. As part of her process of becoming a woman, Fulvia underwent a number of surgical and cosmetic procedures, which she believes helped her achieve the “ideal” female physique.

Over the years, Fulvia has had four breast augmentations, two sets of liposuction, and more than 150 injections into her lips and cheekbones. And for these operations, she has spent more than tens and thousands of dollars.

At fifteen, Fulvia came to terms with the fact that she was transgender, but she kept her secret from her religious family. Fulvia was afraid that her father, a priest, would disown her if she came out as transgender. She said, “I was living with my family, who were very narrow-minded and very religious. I never manifested my will because it was impossible with my dad. He had three sons, and he wanted three sons only.”

Before Fulvia met Marissa 32 years ago, she never told anybody her secret. In the years following their wedding, Fulvia began to research the possibility of transitioning to a female gender identity. She began visiting gay bars and changing into women’s clothes in her garage.

However, Fulvia’s struggles with her gender identity were hidden from the eyes of those who didn’t know her because she presented a tough persona to the world. She would invest in luxury cars and even purchase firearms. And when Fulvia revealed her decision to live as a woman to Marisa, her partner could not believe what she was hearing.

It’s been sixteen years since then…

She said, “Obviously, Marisa lost if, for a moment, it is not something that is easy to accept. Today Marisa and I are nothing more than two sisters. We live together. We argue like two normal people but not like husband and wife.”

Fulvia, on the other hand, sought out therapy after learning that hormone treatment might prevent her from achieving her ideal body. Marisa also sought help from a psychotherapist. And through it all, Marisa never left Fulvia and did everything to adapt to her partner’s gender transition.

Her relationship with Marisa was not affected by this change, in fact, they even got stronger. However, Fulvia was rejected by her own family when she began to transition. In fact, she was not allowed to attend her father’s burial. She said, “My dad asked my wife to sign a paper to send me into a psychiatric institution to make me change my mind.”

And these treatments were not cheap. In order to finance the surgeries, Fulvia sold her weapons and properties.

She is happy with the progress of her transition. She said, “I am now the clown of Peveragno. They point at me. They talk about me. They start inventing stories about me that I am a prostitute. My friends have all vanished – they didn’t accept me. I couldn’t be without Marisa and do what I do without her. She is always here with me.” She adds, “I won’t stop here. I want to go ahead because it’s not perfect. If I reach perfection, maybe I will stop.”

Well, it seems like there’s no sign of her stopping with the treatments and surgeries anytime soon. Even though she did not receive the support she wanted from her family, she did have a very supportive wife who encouraged her to pursue achieving the “perfect” female version of her.