Laverne Cox reveals she's 'in love again,' talks stigma facing men who date trans women

Laverne Cox has a new love in her life.

The "Orange Is the New Black" star and transgender advocate opened up about her love life on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and discussed the stigma surrounding men who date trans women.

"Laverne is in love again," the actress announced in a clip from the show published Thursday. "It feels amazing. Love is an incredible thing. It's literally this chemical thing that's awesome."

Though Cox didn't name her new boyfriend, she said he's a "really great guy" and that their romance was unexpected.

"I thought he was just going to be this hot dude I was gonna be hanging out with and then it just kind of happened," she added.

According to the actress, she and her new beau have "been hanging out" and taking their relationship "really slowly" for about six months. She also said she's the first trans woman this person has dated.

Cox also discussed the challenges facing men who date trans women.

"The issue over the years for me as a trans woman and other trans women is that the womanhood of trans women is often disavowed, that a lot of people don't see trans women as women, and so the men who are attracted to women, people think they're gay," she said. "And like, if you're a straight man, you don't want people to think you're gay, and so a lot of times they don't want to disclose or want to let anyone know."

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The actress also recalled a conversation she had with a man who shared his experience with her about telling his friend that he was open to dating trans women.

"He told a friend of his, and (the friend) said, 'Why couldn't you just be gay?' Because for him, being gay would have been better than him being attracted to trans women," Cox said. "But he's not gay. He's not into guys at all. He likes women, but in that spectrum of women, he also likes trans women. And a lot of guys are like that, but people don't get it. People just don't understand it, and it's really sad."

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Cox previously dated ex-boyfriend Kyle Draper for nearly two years before she announced their split in June 2019 on Instagram. In her post, Cox wrote that she hopes she and Draper empowered trans people to find love, even though they did not find it with each other.

"We know our relationship meant so much to so many people, especially trans folks, giving them hope that this kind of love is possible for them as well," she wrote. "That hope, the hope for love has not waned for me in the face of this breakup but rather is fortified."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Laverne Cox talks stigma of men dating trans women: 'People don't get it'