A woman by the name of Taylor Lianne Chandler who claims she dated Michael Phelps is gaining headlines for announcing her intersex birth.
What is intersex exactly? It’s essentially someone who was born with ambiguous or abnormal reproductive parts, A.K.A. a hermaphrodite.
You’ll read some reports say Chandler used to be a man. That’s inaccurate. However, either way, it’s a unique story turning more bizarre by the day.
Here is an excerpt of Chandler’s statement made on her Facebook page:
I was born intersex and named David Roy Fitch at birth. By the time I could walk and talk I made it clear I was a girl and dressed as one. In my early teens I was medically diagnosed and went on testosterone blockers, at 15 estrogen enhancers. My birth certificate was modified along with my name while I was a teenager, prior to any corrective surgery. I originally changed my name to Paige Victoria Whitney. At 16 I legally emancipated from my family. I had already left home at 15…
…The problem is I have made friends that I never told and dated and married people that knew nothing of my past. If you don’t understand what intersex is, Google it. I was never a man, never lived as a man. No one can say they knew me as a man or produce a photo of me as a man. There are people that remember me as an androgynous child at times because of what was forced upon me. I have dated many celebrities before, none of which knew my past.
She goes on to say that Phelps and herself met on the dating app Tinder and “just clicked,” saying their relationship was like a “teenage love affair.” Their first date was supposedly a Baltimore Ravens game.
You can read her entire post here. But before you do, take heed that it’s unlikely the unremarkable self-described “public figure” ever seriously dated Phelps in the first place and she’s only trying to make a splash to gain 15 minutes of fame.
Chandler did say they were together for a short period of time. Whatever that means. It probably means this should all be taken with a grain of salt.
Phelps and his team have not commented on the matter yet. The Olympic champion spent all of October in rehab following his September DUI arrest and is currently serving a six-month suspension via U.S. Swimming.
I empathize with anyone who had to go through any kind of gender identity confusion. However, this entire “story” from this woman reeks of cheap class.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
