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- Former Super SiReyna Sabel Gonzales shares his struggles on going back to his original identity as Mark Estephen
- Mark Estephen expressed how the Lord has helped him go past the “immortality” of same-sex romance
You may have known Mark Estephen as Sabel Gonzales, the former Super SiReyna winner.
One January 28, he surprised his fans and followers when he re-introduced himself with short hair, sporting traditionally masculine clothes, and going by his birth name.
In an interview with ABS-CBN, he shares his view about the “immorality” of same-sex romance.
During his time as Sabel, he shared that how he got married, and had a wonderful as a wife, but he was not really satisfied with it.
“Nagpakasal ako, pinakasalan ako, nagkaroon ako ng asawa, nagkaroon ako ng magandang buhay bilang wife.
But at the end of the day, it’s not the answer to my satisfaction in life,”
Now that he went back to being a man, he admitted that his attraction to men are can’t simply disappear, but whenever he feels the struggle, he will just ignore it and pray to the Lord.
“That’s the struggle, especially before, I lived with the immorality. But we need to flee [from] the immorality.”
When asked if he want so get married and be a father someday, he said that if that’s what God wants for him, if He will give him a wife that will accept who he is, then he wants to be a dad. As he grew up without a father, he wants to experience having kids.
Despite the long and hard process of transitioning his male features back, Mark Estephen is dedicated to going back to his original identity.
“It takes time, because I took hormones a lot. Naging feminine ‘yung body ko. Hindi iyan sa isang iglap lang, magiging katawang lalaki na,
Sa isang iglap, magpapagupit ako ng buhok, magdadamit akong panlalaki ulit, it’s not easy. Every time na nag-pe-pray ako kay Lord, I ask him, ‘Lord, is this your desire in my life? Ito ba ‘yung buhay na gusto mo para sa akin?’ … Niluhod ko sa Panginoon. Iniyak ko sa Panginoon. ‘Lord, alam ko gagabayan mo ako in my journey.'”
He shared that his turning point in life is when he heard the words of God from the Bible through a Christian pastor.
“Nagkaroon ako ng conviction
on that day na mamatay na ako, I don’t know where I’m going, if it’s hell or heaven. With that kind of lifestyle na meron ako, I know na I’m not 100 percent sure na pupunta ako sa langit.”
When he was asked if he has encouraged any transgender friends to follow his steps, he answered that he respects them, and he will just pray for them.
“Sa akin, walang nagsabi na kailangan ka magpakalalaki, kusa na lang na nagdesisyon ako para sa akin.”
