The man who became a woman and a man again

Charles Kane had a sex change operation, but hated being Samantha so much that he became a man again. Now he is getting married.

When the millionaire property developer steps out with his new fiancée, people tend to either stare or discreetly do a double take. It may be because Victoria Emms is a striking redhead and, at 28 to Charles’s 50, is young enough to be his daughter.

But they both suspect it is because they look "eccentric" or "odd".

In Victoria’s eyes, Charles is "all man", but others may disagree. Born Sam Hashimi, the businessman and divorced father-of-two had a sex-change operation in 1987 to turn him into glamorous interior designer Samantha Kane, UK's Daily Mail reported.

He spent £100,000 on cosmetic operations and tooth veneers to create the "ultimate male fantasy" and was so convincing as a woman he had no trouble attracting men, and was briefly engaged to a wealthy landowner.

Then, in 2004, after seven years of living as a woman, he decided he’d made a horrible mistake; the result - he believes now - of a breakdown following the acrimonious end of his 12-year marriage and estrangement from his children.

Initially thrilled by his transformation, life as a woman quickly paled despite a jetset lifestyle in Monaco.

He hated the way female hormones made him moody and emotional. Shopping bored him and sex was a disappointment.

No matter how feminine he looked, he felt he was merely playing a role.

So, five years ago, Charles spent a further £25,000 on three operations at the gender clinic at London’s Charing Cross Hospital to turn him back into a male.

His breast implants were removed and male genitalia re-constructed from skin grafts. The trouble was, he wasn’t the man he had been before.

Two years ago Charles cut a rather sad figure rattling around his £2.6 million West London property. Though dressed in a suit, he looked neither man nor woman, and vestiges of his beautiful alter ego Samantha remained.

His attempts at dating women had met with outright rejection and humiliation and he feared he would never find anyone brave enough to love him.

But now he is smiling next to his fiancee, Victoria, a single mother to her son Albert, two-and-a-half.

They met at an art gallery in her home town of Malvern, Worcestershire, in June 2009 and last month she accepted his proposal of marriage.

They do look rather odd together. She looks even younger than her years, while Charles’s dyed blond hair is reminiscent of the style he sported as Samantha Kane.

Though he is wearing a beautifully cut suit, he has teamed it with a pair of dusky pink, suede moccasins.

If this bothers Victoria, she doesn’t let it show. Instead, she proudly shows her diamond engagement ring and insists Charles is a far better boyfriend for having once been a woman.

Because, unlike other men, she says, he truly understands women’s needs.

The couple are planning a church wedding at the end of next year, and Victoria will move into Charles’s West London home with Albert once renovations are complete to make it "childproof".

Although Charles says they could push the boundaries of medical science by having a child together by IVF, they have no such plans.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.