Roddy Alves gave an emotional interview in which she opened up about childhood bullying. (Screenshot/Truly)
Celebrity Big Brother star Roddy Alves, who became famous as a lover of plastic surgery and later came out as transgender, has opened up about her transition in an emotional interview.
Roddy Alves found fame after spending half a million pounds on plastic surgery procedures to appear more like a Ken doll, and in 2018 appeared on Celebrity Big Brother.
In January, Alves came out as a trans woman in an interview with The Mirror, and said: “For the last few years I have been known as the human Ken doll, but actually I have always felt like Barbie.”
She continued: “It feels amazing to finally tell the world I’m a girl… I finally feel like the real me.”
Now, Alves has opened up about the childhood bullying she experienced, as well as discussing what it was like to come out as a trans woman.
In an interview with Truly, Alves said “the Ken doll” that she was famous for being is now gone.
Alves explained she “never felt comfortable as Ken”, saying: “I didn’t like it because Ken is a male doll.”
“I never had surgery to be a Ken doll lookalike, it just happened. When I look at photos of Rodrigo, I see a very glamorous man.
“But I knew I was unhappy, I was forcing that smile.”
The Brazilian-British TV personality became famous for looking like the Ken doll, and gained millions of followers on social media.
Alves has since had more surgery to look more feminine, saying that she’d always secretly dressed as a woman, which caused “a lot of depression”.
She added: “As a young child I was always very in touch with my feminine side. I was diagnosed with Gynecomastia which is an excess of chest breast tissue.
“The boys at school bullied me, physically abused me. I dedicated myself to languages, I was always first to come to class. I can speak six languages now.
“Bullying gave me the strength to be a better person.”
She’s signed up to volunteer for the NHS COVID-19 relief effort, according to the MailOnline, and is spending lockdown going through her old male clothes to donate to charity.