Kellie Maloney admits she’s lost friends since transitioning

Kellie Maloney has admitted she’s lost friends since announcing her transition in 2014.

The boxing promoter, 68, who was formerly known as Frank, said pals claimed they ‘didn’t understand’ her decision to undergo gender reassignment surgery because they were ‘real men’s men.’

Kellie went onto defend her decision to transition by claiming she’s only ‘corrected something that was wrong at birth,’ adding that she still feels ‘lucky’ as she had the support of her three daughters throughout her difficult journey.

Hard: Kellie Maloney, 68, has admitted she’s lost friends since announcing her transition in 2014, claiming they stated they ‘didn’t understand’ her decision to become a woman

Speaking on talkSPORT’s Fight Of My Life podcast, Kellie discussed the challenges she faced after publicly announcing her plans to transition to being a woman less than a year after retiring from boxing promotion in 2013.

She admitted she did lose the support of some friends who struggled to understand her decision.

Kellie said: ‘Yeah, I did (lose friends). I’m not going to name the ones. And I lost a couple of people it hurt because these couple of people, I actually helped them when they were in trouble, you know? 

‘And I just felt, you know what? If you have a crisis in your family, well, I know how you dealt with it because I helped you in certain situations. And I just thought, you know what, I’m not going to hold it against him. 

Hard: The boxing promoter who was formerly known as Frank (pictured in 2010), said pals claimed they 'didn't understand' her decision to undergo gender reassignment surgery

Hard: The boxing promoter who was formerly known as Frank (pictured in 2010), said pals claimed they ‘didn’t understand’ her decision to undergo gender reassignment surgery

‘But I’ve even had one of them say to me, one of his friends told me, and you know what? He just doesn’t understand because he’s a real man’s man.

‘And I said, ”sorry, well, what’s a real man’s man?” Let’s live in the real world here. I’ve not had a brain transplant, I’ve not grown to haunch. 

‘What I’ve done is corrected something that was wrong at my birth. If I had a hole in my heart or now the doctors would have done that as a baby because they could have seen it and I would have lived a normal life and everyone would have said, what a great surgeon, how lucky you are.’

Kellie added that deciding to transition was one of the ‘hardest things in her life,’ but looking back she’s grateful she took the step.

Defiant: Kellie went onto defend her decision to transition by claiming she's only 'corrected something that was wrong at birth'

Defiant: Kellie went onto defend her decision to transition by claiming she’s only ‘corrected something that was wrong at birth’

She continued: ‘You can’t see into the brain when you’re born. So no one knows how your brain develops. It develops as you get older. 

‘And obviously, I was born with a female brain and that was one of the hardest things in the world to me. It was hard for me to accept it, never mind anyone else for me to accept. 

‘Frank Maloney, the boxing promoter, actually is a female. Was one of the hardest things in my life, you know, and I had to do it because if I didn’t do it, I would be sitting here talking to you today. I’d be in a wooden box now.’

Kellie added that she still have preferred to have been born as a woman, and is grateful to have had such a huge career in boxing promotion, as well as the support of her three daughters during her journey.

Opening up: She added she still feels 'lucky' to have had the support of her three daughters throughout her difficult journey (pictured with her younger daughters Libby and Sophie)

Opening up: She added she still feels ‘lucky’ to have had the support of her three daughters throughout her difficult journey (pictured with her younger daughters Libby and Sophie)

She said: ‘I would like to have been born as Kellie. That’s probably only fair. But then or I would like to be able to transition very early and maybe not live in the public media, but then I would never hurt my daughter. So I have to look at the situation. 

‘I was very lucky that I had three beautiful daughters that came on my journey that have stood by me and are still in my life. Frank Maloney, I had a bit of luck becoming the manager of Lennox Lewis and becoming one of Britain’s best promoters as Kellie.

‘I’ve got a beautiful family still in my life where some transgender people lose their families.’

Kellie previously credited her three daughters Emma, Libby and Sophie, for standing by her, and shared pictures of her cosmetic procedures as she reflected on her journey.

Changed: In 2014, Kellie revealed she was living as a woman and had spent £100,000 on transforming her physical appearance, including a final gender reassignment surgery in 2015

Changed: In 2014, Kellie revealed she was living as a woman and had spent £100,000 on transforming her physical appearance, including a final gender reassignment surgery in 2015

In 2014, Kellie revealed she was living as a woman and had spent £100,000 on transforming her physical appearance, including a final gender reassignment surgery to become a ‘fully fledged female’ in 2015. 

In a series of Instagram posts posted in 2019, she shared intimate pictures of her journey, including several of her scarred face just after surgery. 

Speaking from her oldest daughter Emma’s guest room bed, she said her rock throughout her journey was her daughters.

She said: ‘Am I bored? Maybe that’s why I’m putting up my life story in pictures, I don’t know. 

‘My daughters throughout my whole journey have been my rock, my conscience and correct me when I’m right and wrong.’  

Challenging: In a series of Instagram posts posted in 2019, she shared intimate pictures of her journey

Challenging: In a series of Instagram posts posted in 2019, she shared intimate pictures of her journey

Graphic: She included images of her scarred face just after undergoing surgery

Proud: She thanked her mother  and daughters for their support

Graphic: She included images of her scarred face just after undergoing surgery, as she thanked her mother and daughters for their support

Kellie also thanked her mother for her support and added that she wanted to ‘share my life’. 

‘I hope it helps educate people,’ she said, before adding: ‘I’m hoping it helps people understand that, really, we don’t choose this journey because let me tell you – I could have chosen to still be getting pictures of Frank Maloney. 

‘I don’t know what I’d be doing but I certainly wouldn’t be this happy and at peace with myself. That I do know.’ 

She added that she hopes that people don’t think the pictures are ‘over the top’ and she decided to share them because she had been ‘sitting looking at them, just thinking how lucky I am.’ 

You can listen to the interview in full on talkSPORT’s Fight Of My Life podcast, where you usually get your podcasts.