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‘My boyfriend hid he was a woman for six years'

Nicole Lindsay made headlines last month when it was revealed her fiancé ‘Lee’ was actually a woman called Samantha.

The 24-year-old, who first made contact with con artist ‘Lee Brooks’ aged 14 and was set to marry him last year, only discovered his sick secret when police stepped in to warn her after his double life came to light.

As hard as it is to believe, Nicole insists that despite their active sex life she never suspected his con because of Brooks’ cleverly constructed web of lies. He told her she couldn’t see his chest as he was insecure about severe burns – all the time hiding his bandaged boobs under clothes – and fabricated a history of testicular cancer to explain why he was too shy to let her see or touch his genitals.

He even managed to stop the Perthshire mum of two seeing his fake penis by insisting they have sex under the covers.

Shockingly, Nicole wasn’t Brooks’ only victim and police charged him with obtaining sex by fraud – but crushingly, after his second conquest pulled out, the case crumbled.

Worse still, police also revealed Brooks had a previous conviction for sex abuse.

Now Nicole, who has received no explanation from her ex – and doesn’t know if he’s genuinely transgender or a sicko out for kicks - says her life has been left in tatters.

“It’s hard to believe, but I truly never guessed. Why would I ever suspect anyone would do this?” says Nicole, who still can’t bring herself to call Lee ‘she’.

“I know it sounds implausible, but he had excuses for everything. Sex was good – Lee had body hang ups but I was satisfied. It was the same as with other partners, I honestly didn’t feel a difference. He always seemed into it and made the right noises. To think about it now makes me feel dirty - I can’t believe I was fooled. And I still don’t know why – or if he ever really loved me. Who was this person I was planning to marry?”

Nicole first made contact with Lee, then 17, when she was 14, when a genuine mix up meant she started receiving calls meant for him.

“He got in touch to explain and we kept chatting,” she says. “I had a boyfriend and he’d tell me about girlfriends.”

As odd job man Lee, now, 26, lived miles away in Uxbridge, West London, the pair didn’t meet in person for four years – by which point Nicole had given birth to her eldest daughter, now six, and split with the dad.

“We got on so well so we decided to meet,” Nicole, a full-time mum, explains.

“Lee came to Scotland and I immediately fancied him. I saw nothing odd about him, other than him looking younger than I expected because he didn’t have facial hair.”

The pair kissed and started to see each other regularly. Six months on, they had sex.

“He explained he had body hang-ups and kept his chest covered because he said he had bad burns resulting from a violent fight with a previous girlfriend. He also wanted to cover his genitals and stopped me touching them because of the scars left by his cancer. I didn’t push him. All I know is he sat on the end of the bed and put a condom on and then he got under the covers and we made love. I never felt any kind of ‘instrument’ – he didn’t like me touching him anywhere really. I noticed nothing different – I enjoyed it and he seemed to as well.”

As their relationship continued the pair saw each other every other weekend. Although Lee persisted in covering his chest and genitals, Nicole says she even liked his sensitivity.

Shockingly, to strengthen his deception, Lee regularly asked Nicole to do pregnancy checks because she wasn’t on the pill even though he was using condoms.

And Nicole insists she saw no signs of him having periods.

She adds: “He seemed open – he’d often walk round in his boxers and a t-shirt, have big bubble baths with the door open – but now I realise he was always covered.”

Nicole says her family and friends also fell for the bluff.

“I lived with my gran and she noticed nothing. He got on with my mates and would hang out with the lads having a beer, talking about football. There was nothing girly about him, even his voice was manly.”

She adds: “He was great with my daughter, she called him ‘Dad’.”

And when Nicole visited Brooks in London, she saw no signs of his elaborate con either.

“Letters came through the door with his name on – I never met his family or friends but I assumed he wanted to spend our short time alone.”

But after a year, Nicole says Brooks become controlling and she ended the relationship. The couple went their separate ways and lost touch – but in late 2008 Brooks called Nicole.

“I was pregnant with my second daughter, I’d split from her dad and felt vulnerable,” she admits. “Lee apologized for the past and made me laugh again.”

He came to visit after the birth of her little girl, now two.

“We got back together and he proposed. We even set a date for March 2010.”

But with marriage looming, and Brooks keen for her to move to London, Nicole was desperate to meet his friends - but he continued to make excuses. And although he claimed he had money through inheritance to pay for the wedding, she always picked up the bill when they went out.

The pair regularly argued about money and his reluctance to his friends and family, persuaded Nicole to end the relationship.

“I never once suspected the truth – but I did think he was conning me in some way, and although I couldn’t work it out I just wasn’t comfortable.”

The pair split at the end of 2009 and Nicole ended all contact with Brooks after heartbreakingly discovering a few months later he’d started seeing someone else.

Then in September 2010, she received a call from police who revealed Brooks was actually a female called Samantha. They’d traced Nicole after arresting ‘Lee’ for conning another woman – following a report from her father who had become suspicious Lee wasn’t who he said he was.

And disturbingly, he also had a conviction for sex abuse.

“As they said it I giggled, I thought they were joking - it was the most unbelievable thing I’d ever heard,” she says.

“Then I broke down – I was shaking, physically sick. I know people will struggle with this, but I honestly had no clue. I’d never think it possible for someone to cover that up. It didn’t seem real – and I felt sick to my stomach to know all that time I was having sex with a woman, not to mention a sex abuser.”

Police told Nicole she and Brooks’ new partner could press charges of obtaining sex by fraud – but although Brooks was initially charged, because the other woman pulled out, the case was dropped. Nicole has had no contact with Samantha, and has never had any explanation.

“I’m so angry – he’s free, able to reoffend while I’ve had counseling, taken anti-depressants and still can’t sleep,” she says.

“I have flashbacks, see his face close to mine, hear his voice. I’ve tried to have another relationship but I can’t trust men any more. He’s ruined my life.”

She adds: “I have no answers and no idea why he did it. I don’t know if he was transgender, taking hormones, or just did it all for a sadistic kick. I don’t even know if he really loved me and I’m terrified he could have hurt me or the kids because of his previous record. I feel so ashamed I was fooled – any explanation would help me move on, although I don’t think I could face him ever again.”