Beauty YouTuber Nikkie de Jager comes out as transgender in emotional NikkieTutorials video

'I want to finally reveal a part of my life that has made me who I am'

She's known for creating make-up looks on A-List stars from Reese Witherspoon to Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga. But on Monday, beauty YouTuber Nikkie de Jager posted an unexpected video to her YouTube channel, NikkieTutorials.

Titled 'I'm coming out', Nikkie revealed she is transgender to her millions of fans. 'I have to tell you something,' she starts. 'It is a brand-new year. It is 2020, and I want to start the year off with the truth. I want to finally reveal a part of my life that has made me who I am...I can't believe I'm saying this today, but damn, it feels good to finally do it. When I was younger, I was born in the wrong body, which means, I am transgender.'

She pauses and looks emotional, before continuing: 'So surreal saying this. Filming this video is scary, but it feels so liberating and freeing.'

The 25-year-old, who is from the Netherlands, went on to say: 'I want to inspire little Nikkie's around the world who feel insecure, who feel out of place, who feel misunderstood. I hope by me standing up, that it inspires others to do the same. We need to accept each other, we need to respect each other.'

Reflecting on her childhood, she mused, 'When my mum was pregnant, she later told me she was convinced she was having a girl. Ever since I was born, I always thought I was a girl...My mum knew immediately that I was either going to be gay, or a different type of story. And it turned out to be a different type of story.'

The influential YouTuber's voice cracked as she thanked her mum for supporting, accepting, understanding, listening and respecting her. She also revealed during the 17-minute video that by age of six she grew her long and by aged seven she only wore female clothes. 'I took growth hormone stoppers when I was 14, and by 19 I had fully transitioned,' she added.

During the video - which quickly attracted over 15 million views - Nikkie also spoke about her fiancé Dylan, who she got engaged to during a trip to Italy in August 2019. She affectionately called him 'truly the most kind hearted man', and admitted he 'didn't know' about her past when they met. 'I wish I'd told him sooner, but I was afraid to lose him if I told him my full story', she expanded.

Shockingly, Nikkie told fans that her decision to share her 'truth' was forced by someone attempting to 'blackmail' and publicly out her, and at one point she addresses the people she says are threatening her and makes a middle-finger gesture. 'This one's for you', she says.

Known as NikkieTutorials, she is one of the most influential names in the platform's beauty community. She has been sharing make-up tutorials and reviews for 11 years and has almost 13 million subscribers.

'If you feel like you're trapped and there's no way out, know that it gets better. Trust me, it gets better,' she says calmly at the end of the video.

What a woman. Watch the full video below: