Jay Manuel is a breakout star of the new TLC series Jay & Pamela, bringing a new awareness to osteogenesis imperfecta type 3 (OI), a rare genetic disorder causing brittle bones. However, that isn’t the only way he’s breaking boundaries! During the series, he also opened up about his life and journey as a transgender man.

Jay Manuel Opened Up About Being Transgender During ‘Jay and Pamela’

Jay and his fiancée, Pamela Chavez, made their TLC debut in March 2025 with the season 1 premiere of Jay & Pamela.

Although the series heavily focused on their relationship as two people born with osteogenesis imperfecta type 3, Jay also told viewers about his identity as a transgender man.

“Something a lot of people don’t know about me is I am a transgender man. Once I started to realize that I was actually a guy, was probably somewhere in high school,” he explained. “I just didn’t have the words to articulate how I felt. I’ve been out to my family for over five years now and I’m just really grateful that I have, you know, a great partner and my parents are accepting off the bat.”

During the premiere, the TLC personality opened up about “leaning into” his authentic self on his new platform.

“I feel like there’s nothing more powerful, at least for me, than sharing your truth and being who you are, and, of course, sharing it on this big of a platform,” he told viewers. “It’s way different than within the realm of just people that you kind of know. However, I think there’s something to say about just leaning into who you are and that authenticity, and I feel like that’s something that will be seen just throughout the show. It’s not even just the transgender aspect of things but just being authentic to who we are as a whole, and everything that encompasses us as people.”

Pamela Chavez’s Family Doesn’t Approve of Her Relationship With Jay Manuel

Pamela and Jay met online and dated long-distance for a year before she moved into his parents’ apartment with him after her parents disapproved of their relationship. The pair got engaged in 2022.

“As you saw in the [premiere] episode, [it’s] a lot of heartbreak,” Pamela told Swoon in an interview published on March 11, 2025. “I think it’s bittersweet, but I know I’m not the only one. I’m sure someone out there wishes they had the perfect cookie-cutter family, and that’s not the case, but that’s also OK. It doesn’t have to be perfect.”

The TLC personality had nothing negative to say about her family, ultimately thanking them for helping her “shape” who she is today.

“It’s just amazing that no matter if your relationship with your family isn’t perfect, there is some value to it that shaped me to the person that I am and preparing me to enter a new chapter in my life with having more family, which is my husband and in-laws and all that,” she said. “It’s been a blessing.”