refinery29.com by HAYLEY MACMILLAN Oct 28, 2015
Television personality, model, actress, wife, and trans woman: Carmen Carrera is juggling many roles, and she’s doing it in the spotlight. Carrera first captured national attention on VH1 reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race, which she joined when she identified and presented as a man; she then became the first openly trans person to compete on the show. She’s since covered the magazine Candy with Janet Mock and Laverne Cox, appeared alongside Meryl Streep in Ricki and the Flash, and received some 50,000 signatures in support of her dream of becoming the first trans Victoria’s Secret model.
Carrera’s newest public role may be her most personal yet. At VH1’s invitation, she and her husband Adrian Torres are appearing on the sixth season of reality show Couples Therapy With Dr. Jenn to work on repairing their fractured eight-year marriage, which they stated was challenged by infidelity on both their parts. Carrera opened up to us about why she decided to air her “dirty laundry,” the pitfalls of dating as a trans woman, and her priorities for the future. Carrera’s transition may be behind her, but she’s only getting started achieving her goals.