The Brazilian was a housemate in the 2009 run of Channel 4's reality series, during which he became romantically involved with Charlie Drummond.
© Heat
"I've always felt like I had a woman inside of me, always," he told Heat magazine. "But I used to hide it. I've always liked make-up, treatments and other womanly things, and I was 18 when I first started experimenting. But early this year I told my best friend Andrea how I was really feeling.
"She encouraged me. When I came back to the UK I started wearing my friends' clothes first, then I began shopping for them. People in the shops were surprisingly normal about it. Now I go out with a transvestite I made friends with. She's very glam. We go to straight clubs and get a lot of attention."
Admitting that he is still "worried" about his parents' reaction to his new life, Lopes said that he is "about to see a doctor" and is looking into hormone treatment.
"The doctor tells you that you should live as a woman for a year before you make any big decision about surgery, so that's what I'm doing."
"She's very short-tempered, too! She's much madder than I could ever be - once, she tried to take her high heel and throw it in a man's face."
Asked if he has any doubts about becoming a woman, Lopes said: "I'm becoming more sure every day. What makes me like it more is the attention Rebekah is getting - people really like her. I don't know if it will be difficult. But it wouldn't make that much difference. I'm not that masculine."
The full interview appears in the new issue of Heat magazine, out today.
> Rodrigo: 'Charlie relationship was a sham'
Watch Gay Spy's recent chat with Rodrigo Lopes below:
