Bold, Beautiful Love: Regina Staxxx and Cash Taylor

For many LGBTQ couples, seeing their relationship represented in a glamorous, striking, elegant, and stunning way that feels rooted in authenticity is rare if not nonexistent. Capturing that bold and sometimes-radical statement that is love between queer folks is a political statement, and creating a safe space for that love to shine through is inherently profound. 

For as much as we proclaim progress, many who fall within the umbrella of the community oftentimes still don’t see themselves as deserving of such recognition, and it takes those who are unapologetic and fierce to step in front of the lens and offer themselves up to scrutiny, all for the sake of essential narration.

“It’s beautiful to be able to show that you are worthy of being loved, no matter how you identify and how you look. There’s no one way of being trans, and being queer is a beautiful thing, so I feel honored to be able to show that with my partner,” Cash Taylor shares with OFM during an intimate conversation about what it means to be a featured couple in a print magazine. “We never thought as trans people that we would find somebody that understood us and respected us and was willing to be there and take care of us,” he explains.

Cash Taylor and Regina Staxxx offer a delicate-yet-intentional declaration of queer love and were chosen to be featured not only because they offer that necessary representation of support and care in a queer relationship, but because for so long, trans folks have been silenced and not given the platform to declare their love openly and without fear. 

“It’s good to continue the discussion and talk of identity and relationships, and navigating the world as those people,” Regina expands on the idea. “Trans relationships have always been here; queer relationships have always been here, and to be able to spotlight that is exciting.”

Taylor and Regina started out as friends after they met online and sparked an immediate connection. Due to the nature of COVID requiring smaller social circles and limited gatherings outside of close, pod interactions, the relationship took shape into what is now a loving relationship of mutual adoration, respect, and growth.

“It blossomed into a really awesome relationship at the beginning of last year from being able to be around each other a lot more,” Regina explains. “It was just, ‘Stay with certain people, or don’t be around other people,’ and we were always together, so we were always safe and stayed with each other throughout the whole pandemic, and we’re still going strong.”

The couple labels their relationship as open, and they have a resonating confidence that they are each other’s person. What makes the partnership between Taylor and Regina work best is their ability to be honest and fully communicate, providing a safe space to be their best selves inside and outside of the relationship. 

“I definitely enjoy that Cash is always willing to communicate everything with me, and he brings to the relationship a lot of maturity,” Regina says. She explains that he supports and encourages her confidence and helps elevate her to the next level that she is aspiring to. “I’ve accomplished so much in the time that I’ve been with him, and it’s all been because of his push to go out and go forth and make my dreams come true.”

Due to the nature of Regina’s more outgoing and extroverted personality, she in turn is able to help pull Taylor out of his head. “I think that it brings a beautiful balance to the relationship and pushes me to be more myself around other people. Regina really just helps me be a calm person. It makes it really fun being like the yin and yang of the relationship.

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“It definitely brings almost an ability to put your vulnerabilities out there and feel safer doing so and knowing that your partner is also going to be there to uphold you through your weaknesses and not take it out on you,” says Cash.

Capturing the essence of what makes this couple so beautiful was a task that photographer Julius Garrido was eager and excited to execute. He wanted to be able to emphasize a queer, trans couple who not only offered the yin and yang that thrives within a successful couple but also showcases one of incredible power, strength, and style. 

“I have to consider how my subject wants to present themselves; my goal as a photographer is to amplify the kinds of beauty that they want to express. Any person can be beautiful, regardless of what label they want to associate with,” Garrido explains.

While photographing, Garrido carries with him his own experience in navigating the world as a queer person in a space that is anything less than affirming and uses that create an experience that is both enjoyable and affirming for the couples he works with. 

“Growing up in the Philippines, I learned when I was little that only a boy can like a girl and vice versa. As I grew up, I became aware of my orientation, and I was told that, ‘OK, if you’re gay, you’re still bound to this dichotomy, only a feminine and a masculine could like each other,’” he explains. “It becomes not important anymore, so the reason why I did this is to just to show the world that orientation, gender, or sex is not really relevant as long as you love a person,” he explains.

In executing this photoshoot, Garrido describes the connection between Taylor and Regina in a way that places one right inside the dynamic of their relationship. 

“While I was photographing them, I could feel that there’s just love between them, like off-camera, they would be sweet to each other. It’s gonna read into the photos if you truly like each other, and that’s what I’m trying to do is to capture the sweetness, the chemistry between them,” he explains. Additionally, his role as a photographer is to make folks feel comfortable in front of the lens, giving them that freedom to truly express themselves and allow him to capture that inherent beauty within.

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“It was a very affirming experience as well for Cash because Cash used to do modeling and photoshoots, and so it was really nice to have him be excited about how he looked,” Regina begins while Cash elaborates. 

“When I was first starting my transition, I actually got in contact through a friend with a modeling agency that had just been started for trans people, and I had done some modeling events with them. I had not had top surgery; I wasn’t growing facial hair; I was only, like, six months on hormones, and when I would do these photoshoots, I would just feel very not me. So, to have a photoshoot three, four years later, and to see myself as who I always saw myself as, and without my shirt, without the binder lines under a white shirt, it was just an immense amount of gender euphoria,” Cash explains, “When the pictures came back, I got tears in my eyes because I was just like, ‘Wow, we look amazing.’ To see our authentic selves shining through was very empowering.”

Additionally, Regina makes it a point to shout out to those who helped the couple get their looks together in addition to reiterating how amazing it was to work with Garrido. 

“I’m also very thankful for my Staxxx family, and also Brittany Blaze Shearz for getting that hair done for me. She works so hard; she did it in a day! It was just wonderful to have my community, my Staxxx family, and the girls here in Denver. I want to make sure that those people who were there to help are definitely elevated and credited,” Regina says.

“There’s just really no one way that trans and queer looks like,” Taylor says. ”I feel honored to be able to be part of a representation of that community with my partner, and I love being able to share what it looks like for us, and possibly give inspiration for the people that want to have relationships like that, or feel like they just can’t be their true self and find the love that is going to love them for them.”

*Photos by Julius Garrido

For more intimate looks into queer love, check out the latest issue of OFM: Love is Love