Jonelle Tunney, Transitioning and Divorce

Queer Divorce Club

In this episode of the Queer Divorce Club, Tera has the privilege of speaking with Jonelle Tunney, a licensed professional counselor, transwoman, and divorcee, who generously shares her personal journey of transitioning while navigating the challenging terrain of divorce. Jonelle's story is a poignant narrative of resilience and growth.

During the conversation, Jonelle offers a wealth of insights drawn from her experiences of simultaneously managing significant life transitions over the past five years. She candidly discusses the lessons she's learned, both from her transition and her divorce, shedding light on what worked for her and what didn't. Additionally, Jonelle opens up about her co-parenting journey with her ex-wife, providing valuable perspectives and guidance.

Jonelle's journey is filled with invaluable gems of wisdom, and we are excited to share her story with you.

Jonelle Tunney

Jonelle Tunney is currently a licensed professional counselor with River City Psychological Services in downtown Grand Rapids. Jonelle was born as "Jon", a boy at birth, in the late 1960's. She grew up in Cadillac, Michigan and went on to earn teaching and counseling degrees, serving as both a teacher and school counselor for over 20 years. From an early age, Jonelle strongly identified with feeling feminine and womanly inside, but she hid this from the world and even denied it within herself for decades. Meanwhile, she got married and had twins and did her best to be the person she thought the world needed her to be. Shortly before turning 50, around 2018, Jonelle found herself with a loving family and dozens of good friends, with a successful career, and she was almost completely miserable. This began her process of transition, which started with self-acceptance and exploration, included a couple years of group and individual therapy, and culminated in an explosion of personal changes that included divorce, retirement from the school system, selling her home of 20 years, hormone therapy, surgery, and living full-time as a transgender female. It was as if the turbulence within her matched the turbulence around her, including a global pandemic and major political unrest. Today, she finds herself happier and more alive and awake than ever, still great friends with her ex-wife, with almost universal acceptance and support from her family and friends, and engaging with a career as a therapist that she finds incredibly rewarding and meaningful. She works with people of a variety of ages and needs, including treatments for depression, anxiety, and trauma, as well as a particular specialty in supporting those with queer identities and gender-related issues.

You can find Jonelle online at rivercitypsychological.com.