Zackery Torres is starting a new chapter of their life.
On Monday, the "Dance Moms" alum revealed that they are in the process of transitioning. Torres broke the news in a TikTok video and captioned the post "LIFE UPDATE!"
The dancer, who revealed that they are using the pronouns they/their and she/her, started the video off by announcing that they had some exciting news to share.
"I realize I haven't posted on TikTok anything about myself since December, and life update: I'm transitioning! That means I'm transgender, if you didn't know," Torres said.
The TV personality promised to post more often on the social media platform and ended the post by saying, "Great life update" and blowing a kiss.
The recent University of Southern California graduate returned to TikTok with a follow-up post after seeing that an E! News story about them was trending.
"I was literally cleaning a toilet when I saw this article," they said and admitted that they were "shaking." Childhood dream/adult dream/any dream coming true right now."
In a separate Instagram post, Torres expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of love.
"Don't really have a ton of words to express how I am feeling right now, other than grateful. Grateful to everyone who has supported me and continued to help me be my full self," they wrote. "As I sit here with my mouth still open, it is important to recognize the amount of LGBTQIA+ individuals who do not receive this loving response. There is still work to be done, and I cannot wait to be a part of it."
Torres first broke onto the TV scene as a star of "Dance Moms," a reality show they appeared on between 2012-2017. After their stint on the show, the dancer moved on to the USC Kaufman School of Dance and pursued a bachelor's degree in dance. They also started work toward a master's degree in public relations and advertising at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
While pursuing their undergraduate degree, Torres worked to document the noninclusive terminology used in the field of dance and self-published a guidebook, titled "An Evolving Conversation on Gender: Dance Edition."
“The goal of the book is to make it super easy to understand and provide practical resources and actual steps that people can follow to start shaping their local community,” Torres told USC News in September 2020. “It’s meant to be used as a starting point.”
During their sophomore year, Torres came out as gender nonbinary, and they credit their support network for encouraging them to take the plunge.
“I had some awesome friends that helped me figure out who I was, and I was like, ‘This makes so much more sense,’” they told USC News. “I finally felt free.”