A former Member of British Parliament who made history as the country's first openly transgender lawmaker is now facing harassment charges linked to the former MP's former spouse.

Katie Wallis, 40, is accused of harassing ex-wife Rebecca Wallis following the breakdown of their marriage. Prosecutors allege that the harassment occurred earlier this year and continued even after Wallis was arrested and released on bail.

Wallis appeared in Cardiff Magistrates’ Court wearing a blue cardigan, red lipstick, and matching nails. Wallis pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The former Conservative MP is alleged to have made repeated unwanted contact with Rebecca Wallis through text messages, phone calls, and voice notes in February and March. The former MP is also accused of driving by the ex-wife's residence multiple times.

“Following the victim informing the defendant of a new relationship, the defendant’s behavior became harassing in nature,” prosecutor Simone Walsh told the court. “The frequency, nature and contents of the messages and voicemails amounted to harassment of the victim.”

Wallis and ex-wife Rebecca were together for more than 15 years and finalized their divorce in 2024. They share two children.

The Crown claims the former MP continued to send messages even after being arrested on February 28, violating bail conditions.

Defense attorney Narita Bahra rejected the harassment allegations, saying Wallis was experiencing severe mental health issues tied to gender transition.

“Dr Wallis was going through a very important stage of her transition process which was to come out full-time,” Bahra told the court. “The complainant took issue with that. [Rebecca Wallis] did not want Dr Wallis to come out full-time as transgender.”

“This involved announcing himself as a woman to the world and dressing as a woman full-time,” she continued. “She was so unwell and was not in a position where she had support from others — she was reaching out to her.”

The court has ordered a psychiatric evaluation of Wallis, and proceedings are scheduled to resume on June 17, reports the BBC.

Wallis served as the Conservative MP for Bridgend from 2019 until 2024. Wallis drew national attention in 2022 when Wallis came out publicly as transgender.

“I’m trans. Or to be more accurate, I want to be. I’ve been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and I’ve felt this way since I was a very young child,” Wallis said in a statement at the time.