Jazz Jenning’s Ex-Boyfriend, Ahmir Steward, Supported Her Throughout Her Surgeries

Emily Shiffer
·6 min read
Photo credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin - Getty Images
Photo credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin - Getty Images

From Women's Health

Jazz Jennings fans, rejoice! The transgender teen's reality TV show, I Am Jazz, comes back on Tuesday night for its sixth season on TLC. This season will feature Jazz's gender confirmation surgery, according to E! News.

During the fifth season, viewers were introduced to Jazz's boyfriend, Ahmir Steward, who supported her through her transgender journey. And although it appears the couple has since broken up (according to Radar Online, the split happened in April 2019), they're still friends.

Here are five things you need to know about Ahmir.

Jazz and Ahmir met thanks to YouTube.

According to InTouch Weekly, Jazz shared her email with her YouTube subscribers, and Ahmir reached out. They met while she was in his hometown of Philadelphia.

View this post on Instagram

Catch a new episode of #IAmJazz tonight at 9 PM on @tlc to meet someone who holds a very special place in my heart❤️ Thank you @ahmirsteward for going on this incredible journey with me; you are one of the kindest, most creative, and brilliant people I've ever met! I hope you all like him as much I do!!😘

A post shared by Jazz (@jazzjennings_) on Feb 12, 2019 at 12:35pm PST

“Something compelled me to reply and he just seemed very sincere in the message and it all just blossomed from there,” she said. As far as their IRL meeting goes, Jazz explained, “Ahmir and I met in Philly at the Transgender Health Conference… And since then, we’ve just kind of formed this bond. We are talking and keeping in touch every single day.”

He identifies as non-binary.

Some I Am Jazz fans have speculated that Ahmir is trans, but he has never addressed it. Instead, he identifies himself as non-binary. In an Instagram post, he described this gender identity as: "'Non-binary' is a gender identity under the transgender umbrella. Someone who is non-binary does not identify as exclusively male or female (also known as the gender binary) and does not identify as the gender assigned to them at birth.” This is me. @lachrwatson is MY idol."

View this post on Instagram

” ’Non-binary’ is a gender identity under the transgender umbrella. Someone who is non-binary does not identify as exclusively male or female (also known as the gender binary) and does not identify as the gender assigned to them at birth.” This is me. @lachrwatson is MY idol. 💜💚

A post shared by Ahmir Steward (@ahmirsteward) on Mar 2, 2019 at 8:04am PST

He's a mental health advocate.

If you follow Ahmir on Instagram, you'll notice a lot of his posts are about mental health and mental health awareness. He has link to two mental health accounts, @sadboysorg and @sadgirlsclub, which offer inspirational mental health help.

View this post on Instagram

So mental health. I haven’t posted about you in a while, ig i’ve been afraid of the response and i just wanted to be “happier” on my social media. You know, in these pictures I see many things. I see my hair grow longer, change color, face shape change. Hell, I look so young in the first one. Most importantly my smile disappears pretty damn fast, and only me and god know what was going on behind these cameras.. and when the cameras were away. Ive come to terms with being the bad guy, most people hate it but I know the truth and i see no value in being bad or good. I spare you of the truth to block the outrage. Quite frankly, I dont have time for it. Im not going to sit here and make a list of things im going to change about myself for 2020 (because i’m not changing shit, i’ll change slowly and on my own schedule), but I will say that there are quite a few people who im leaving in 2019. Ive sat here and played the fake game with them, acting like I didn’t know the things they had said about me, acting like I loved who they were and seeing through their fake smile. •I heard you when you didn’t want me to listen.• im unfollowing y’all, no conversation needed. No i’m not having a mental breakdown, in fact i’m thriving, but you can pack your shit and get out of my life. Make sure you bring a toothbrush xx

A post shared by Ahmir Steward (@ahmirsteward) on Dec 8, 2019 at 9:12am PST

His mom had an issue with them dating.

According to InTouch Weekly, Ahmir's dad was on board, but his mom wasn't.

“My mom is not actually as accepting as I originally thought she would be,” Ahmir shared in an episode of the show. “She didn’t acknowledge you for who you were,” he told Jazz. “She would say ‘he’ and ‘that’s a man because he was born a man.'”

He went on to say, "The most hurtful thing my mom said was that Jazz was still a man and that I would be gay for being in a relationship with Jazz,” the Pennsylvania native shared. “[I] lost it because I’m not gay. I’m not attracted to men. And Jazz is a female, so it just didn’t make sense to me.”

View this post on Instagram

My story is very simple. I am an eagle raised by chickens. Chickens who couldn't fly and told me that it was just impossible to do so. They had a different way of living, a way of living that I felt was not for me. I lived like a robot, following the traditional way and believing that traditional was all the world had for me. ”Make the best of what you have.” It's an amazing saying but never be afraid to say, ”I am not satisfied.” Want more. Go get more. All it took was one moment, I stepped away from those chickens and looked in and around them. I saw that I was different. Most importantly I saw that not all of them were chickens. Some I would even go as far as to say were dragons and phoenix’s; others had only slight differences and were roosters, all unaware of their true potential. But rest assured that many in the bunch were chickens. Which one are you?

A post shared by Ahmir Steward (@ahmirsteward) on Mar 12, 2019 at 11:36am PDT

While talking with Jazz, he admitted, “[My mom] might not let me back in the house, to be honest. …That’s just how she is. And I’m very outspoken. So yeah, that could potentially lead to me, I guess, being kicked out of the house or whatever else."

He appears in the sixth season to support Jazz's third surgery.

Jazz will undergo her third gender confirmation surgery in the new season, and not without complications. Thankfully, she had Ahmir for emotional support. (Jazz had her first gender-confirmation procedure in June 2018.)

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