Their love story began on a Greyhound bus 35 years ago, and they've been inseparable ever since

When Tiffany Woods met Bridgette, she was standing at a pivotal moment in her life.

It was February 1987, and at 23 years old, Tiffany was in the midst of a difficult time. Her marriage, which had started two years earlier, was crumbling, and divorce seemed inevitable. Though she was training to become a police officer, her heart wasn’t in it.

Tiffany, who is transgender, hadn’t yet come out. She had spent most of her life suppressing her true identity.

Uncertain of her next steps, Tiffany’s main focus was simply catching the Greyhound bus back home to San Francisco from the Sacramento Bus Station.

As passengers began loading their bags into the bus's storage compartment, Tiffany was lost in thought. It wasn’t until a young woman ahead of her reached out with a luggage tag that she snapped back to reality.

“You’ll need one of these to check your bag in,” the stranger said with a warm smile.

“Oh, thanks,” Tiffany replied, shaking herself out of her daydream.

The woman handing over the tag was Bridgette. At 18, she was living and working in San Francisco, returning from a weekend spent visiting her parents in Sacramento.

Tiffany and Bridgette struck up a conversation – starting with the luggage tags and quickly moving on to talk about their upcoming journeys.

Noticing that the conversation between them was showing no signs of stopping, the person standing between Tiffany and Bridgette kindly suggested they swap places so they could stand together. Without hesitation, they agreed and switched spots.

“We were just talking back and forth, and we ended up waiting in that line for quite a while,” says Bridgette, who prefers to be known by her first name for personal reasons, speaking to Dinogo Travel.

The two enjoyed each other's company so much that when it came time to board the bus, sitting together was the natural next step.

The drive from Sacramento to San Francisco usually takes about an hour and a half by car. However, with the Greyhound’s multiple stops and the usual traffic, the bus ride stretched on for several hours.

Tiffany and Bridgette chatted the entire way.

Tiffany recalls it as one of those rare conversations where you meet someone new, spend hours talking as if you've known each other forever, yet you both assume you'll never see each other again, which allows you to lower your guard.

They talked about everything, though there were still some things left unsaid. Tiffany didn’t reveal she was still married, while Bridgette, feeling a bit shy, claimed to be 21, adding a few years to her age.

A few hours into the trip, a woman sitting across from them, noticing their clear connection, couldn’t resist and interrupted with a question:

“How long have you two been together?” the woman asked.

Tiffany and Bridgette exchanged a laugh, then Tiffany looked back at the woman and replied, ‘We’ve been together since kindergarten.’ Without missing a beat, Bridgette chimed in with the name of their made-up teacher from their imagined class where they supposedly first met.

“We just started playing along as if we’d been together since kindergarten,” Tiffany recalls. “I think we just had that natural chemistry.”

The bus finally arrived at the San Francisco Transbay Terminal, where a friend of Tiffany’s was waiting to pick her up.

Bridgette had originally planned to take the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train to her aunt's house, where she was staying at the time.

But due to the bus’s delayed arrival, she had missed the last train. Tiffany, ever the gracious soul, offered to give Bridgette a ride home.

On the way, they made a detour for pizza, then stopped by a bar, exchanging phone numbers. When Tiffany finally dropped Bridgette off at home, she kissed her goodnight.

“That was really sweet,” Bridgette remembers. “And as they say, the rest is history.”

Openness and communication

Bridgette and Tiffany had loosely planned to return to Sacramento the following weekend. During the week, they connected over the phone and decided to travel together.

Bridgette planned to visit her parents for the weekend, and she invited Tiffany to join her. Tiffany agreed, and within less than a week of meeting at the bus station, she found herself being introduced to Bridgette’s parents.

“I spent the weekend with her—first visiting her parents, then attending her sister’s high school play. Afterwards, she introduced me to her friends,” Tiffany recalls.

Since that weekend, Tiffany says, “we’ve never been apart.”

That Friday night, Tiffany and Bridgette were nestled together on the couch in Bridgette’s parents’ living room. It was 3 a.m., and everyone else was asleep. They’d been sipping champagne, and the fire was crackling in the hearth.

“She was gently running her fingers through my hair and asked, ‘What’s your favorite color?’” Tiffany remembers. “I said, ‘Purple.’”

For a cisgender, heterosexual man in 1987, that was an unusual answer, Tiffany reflects. By revealing this detail to Bridgette, she was hoping to spark a deeper conversation.

“I think I have gender issues,” Tiffany confided.

The next morning, still feeling the effects of the champagne, Tiffany panicked and tried to backpedal on what she had said.

Bridgette's response was calm and reassuring: 'It’s okay, we’ll figure it out. You’re fine. You’re perfect just the way you are. We’ll figure it out together.'

“Nobody had ever said that to me before,” Tiffany reflects today.

It was everything Tiffany had ever dreamed of hearing.

“Because there were no expectations or pressure on the relationship, there was such a sense of openness. There were no consequences, just complete trust in the natural connection we had. And as our relationship grew, that trust remained,” explains Bridgette.

“We’ve always had that soul mate connection,” Tiffany says.

Growing together

As February turned into March, Tiffany and Bridgette continued to grow closer. Their bond was strengthening, but Tiffany was uncertain how to bring up the fact that she was still married.

She hadn’t shared this detail with Bridgette initially, and now it had become a secret she wasn’t sure how to reveal.

Eventually, Bridgette found out. It was a tense moment.

“I was really angry,” Bridgette recalls. It took some time to process, and she says today that this experience left her with 'one of the little scars.'

“I fully took responsibility for it,” Tiffany admits.

Tiffany and her ex-wife, already living apart, finalized their divorce. By September 1987, Tiffany and Bridgette had settled into a small apartment in San Francisco.

Together, they began to build their life, navigating their personal goals, career aspirations, and what they wanted from their families and for themselves.

Tiffany eventually realized that becoming a police officer wasn’t the right path for her.

“I was set on becoming a police officer because, at the time, I couldn’t see any other way to transition,” she reflects. “Back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, as trans individuals, we often went into hyper-masculine jobs to fit in.”

However, the unconditional support she received from Bridgette gave Tiffany the space to reconsider. Together, they began exploring ways for Tiffany to embrace her true self.

“If you don’t address your gender identity and your struggles in a healthy way and build a solid foundation, it will always be a fight,” Tiffany shares now.

In the late 1980s, there was no internet to provide guidance, and there was a severe lack of trans representation in the media or public discourse.

“It was a completely different world back then. There were hardly any resources, and the stigma was overwhelming—and sadly, it still exists today,” Tiffany reflects. “We’ve made progress, but the backlash against trans visibility is still strong. At the time, I was just trying to figure out if this was even possible.”

As the new decade began, Tiffany and Bridgette found a deep sense of belonging within San Francisco’s vibrant LGBTQ+ community.

“We discovered so many kindred spirits, and a sense of belonging and purpose,” Tiffany recalls.

It was a pivotal moment, but the AIDS crisis deeply affected their community. Tiffany, who hadn’t yet come out to her family, also felt the strain of living a 'double life.'

When Tiffany made the decision to fully transition, she severed ties with her family entirely.

“Fear was a major obstacle,” Tiffany admits. “I was terrified of rejection, so I rejected them first. That way, I could control the rejection. But by doing that, I didn’t give them the chance to affirm or support me. That’s the downside of it.”

A spur-of-the-moment wedding

Bridgette had always dreamed of getting married, while Tiffany had been more hesitant—having already experienced a failed marriage.

By 1996, both Tiffany and Bridgette were certain that marriage was the right step for them.

Encouraged by their gay friends—who were unable to marry at the time and urged Tiffany and Bridgette to “marry for us”—the couple exchanged vows on December 28, 1996.

Uncertain about how the minister might react to them both dressing traditionally feminine, Tiffany opted for a men's tuxedo, complemented by soft makeup and a ponytail.

After the ceremony, the couple's housemates—who were drag queens and styling experts—helped Tiffany prepare for their evening celebrations. The newlyweds then enjoyed a meal and cake with their closest friends.

A few years later, as the new millennium approached, Tiffany and Bridgette made the decision to start a family.

Bridgette had always dreamed of having children, but Tiffany took a bit longer to reach that conclusion.

“I feared the kids would reject me because I didn’t know how to have those conversations—back then, there weren’t many trans parents,” Tiffany recalls.

The couple decided their first priority was to rebuild their relationship with Tiffany’s family.

“We wanted to change the narrative and forge a new, healthier path for our family. We also knew we needed the support of our families to navigate the world as a trans woman and as a couple perceived as lesbians,” Tiffany explains.

After years of silence, there was some lingering hurt, but Tiffany’s family was eager to support the couple through their journey into parenthood. Over time, the old wounds began to heal.

Today, Bridgette and Tiffany are parents to three teenage children.

Tiffany’s initial worries about being rejected by their children turned out to be unfounded. As Bridgette had predicted, their kids offer her nothing but unconditional love.

‘Things happen for a reason’

Now, Tiffany and Bridgette are dedicated to making a positive impact in the world, while also teaching their children to do the same.

Bridgette runs her own business, and Tiffany serves as the state’s transgender health specialist at the California Department of Public Health.

In addition, Tiffany sits on the executive board of the California Democratic Party and co-chairs the LGBTQ Caucus.

Whenever they spot a Greyhound bus on the road, Tiffany and Bridgette reflect on their serendipitous meeting. Although they haven’t traveled together on one since, they still enjoy road trips together now and then.

Tiffany and Bridgette both take pride in where they are today, and in the growth they’ve experienced together over the past 35 years.

"Anything is possible if you believe in yourself and your ability to make things work," says Bridgette.

"Don’t be afraid to take risks," adds Tiffany. "I believe that we cross paths with people for a reason. Even if we don’t always understand why, we should remain open to it. Fear should never be the thing that holds us back."