'Masculine woman' and 'feminine man' open up about their relationship

A couple who has dubbed themselves as an ''unusual heterosexual relationship'' due to his extreme femininity and her masculine traits have opened up on how they first fell in love.

Maren Butler, 21, identifies as a masculine woman, with James Carrington, 23, identifying as a feminine man.

They have been together for a year-and-a-half after chatting for a few weeks, where a deep connection was sustained fairly quickly.

James loves 'girly' things, which includes stilettos, lash extensions, acrylic nails and crop tops.

Meanwhile, Maren heads to the men's section while shopping and also chooses to not wear makeup.

It is the couple's first heterosexual relationship, as they have previously dated people of the same sex.

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The couple say they do not follow any stereotypical gender roles, so decide to mix it up when they see fit.

James said: "We don't like to conform to any kind of norms not because we are looking to be different but we just do what feels most natural to us.

"Maren does most of the cooking - which is stereotypically a female quality - but it's just because she's the better chef.

"Even though I identified as gay before I met Maren, I wasn't seeking a romantic relationship with men.

"A long time before I met Maren, I had one boyfriend but we only lasted a couple of months as it didn't feel right.

"When I got to know Maren there was the click and that's how I knew this was special."

The couple first got talking after Maren reached out to James on TikTok in February 2021.

She found his confidence 'mesmerising' so had to get in touch.

After talking for a bit, the pair exchanged numbers and began texting and calling every day.

Only a month into talking, the pair met after Maren took the 800-mile journey to meet James.

"We'd talked about meeting up and I had a couple of days off school so I decided that it was the perfect time to meet," Maren said.

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"It took me over 10 hours but it was so worth it.

"When I arrived it was fairly late at night but it was amazing to see each other in person for the first time.

"James was just how he was over the phone; funny, intelligent and confident."

In that short visit, the pair made the most of it by going out for a meal and Maren even met some of James' friends.

The couple are now over a year strong and are enjoying ''breaking all the gender and relationship stereotypes'' with their relationship.