Nikki Araguz Bares Soul on FOX 26 Morning News

HOUSTON - The death of Wharton firefighter Thomas Araguz in July has turned into a highly publicized legal battle over his estate. His widow, who says she was born with a genetic defect, is on the defensive after the firefighter’s family is fighting to have their marriage voided because, they argue, both were men when they got married. That’s against Texas law.

FOX 26 anchor Chris Stipes interviewed Nikki Araguz one-on-one to get more insight into the battle.

On the death of her husband Thomas Araguz. “It’s been horrible. I lost my best friend, I lost my children. I lost everything in that fire. It’s been horrendous.”

On what Thomas Araguz would think about the ongoing legal battle over his estate, worth as much as $600,000: “He would be very disappointed, he hated strife. Strife in our family, he would be very disappointed at what’s taken place.”

On Nikki’s relationship with Thomas’s mother and his two children before his death: “It was wonderful. I was the step-mother to those children for almost 3 and a half years. 4 days a week they were with us. Homework, we ate dinner together, legos, we did everything a normal family would do together. It devastates me.”

On her gender and genetic defect: “I’m not a doctor or medical professional. Partial Androgen Interceptor Syndrome is what they diagnosed me with. Yes, the birth defect that I had required me to have reconstructive surgery.”

On the term “transgender” to describe her: “I hate that word. That lumps me in with a group, and I have always just been a woman and a female. ‘Were you born with a penis?’ I was born with a birth defect and I would not go as far to say that it was what you said, no. It was a highly underdeveloped piece of anatomy that had to be removed and reconstructed to correctly match the rest of my body which I’ve clearly fully developed unsurgically.

On what is at the heart of this legal battle for her: “It’s about the validity of my marriage, that’s what it’s about. It’s about the civil rights of my husband and I and the fact that we loved each other very much. We loved each other very much. He proposed to me on a sail yacht in the middle of the bay with dolphins swimming by. You know he was the most romantic man I have ever met and I can’t imagine my life without him now. I want to see the validity of my marriage be held up in the court of law and for all parties to have peace.”

On what some critics say is a person seeking the spotlight: “No, and I didn’t bring this lawsuit on. They did, they put me in this spotlight. They put me in the position to defend myself and my marriage to my husband. Not me.”

The attorney’s for Thomas Araguz’s family call Nikki an admitted perjurer and “truth challenged.”