My partner has told me he wants to be a woman

I am in hell at the moment my partner of 26 years has recently told me he wants to be a woman all I feel is Despair my heart I feel has literally broke in two

You're not alone if that makes you feel any better. A woman told me not to long ago that she could relate to a man wanting a gender change. A woman trapped in a man's body. You have to convince him that there can be a lot of problems with a gender change. Forever taking hormones, there's no turning back. There's someone that wishes she had never done it. No one's attracted to her as a woman. Plus you have to go through a transition period where you dress and behave like a woman before the procedure. I'm guessing you already knew that.

Before he decides have him read about the potential problems with transgender assignment. Google it.