I kept getting the impression that the film meant to be vague about whether Albert had lesbian tendencies. I know she was uncomfortable being in woman's clothing and acting like an actual woman, but I don't know if that has anything to do with sexual attraction.
sharei think albert was so used to being a man (over half of her/his life was spent as a man) that she/he didn't know how to be a woman any more or feel comfortable wearing a dress. it's not that surprising at all. i don't think that albert was physically attracted to helen which is why she/he never tried anything with her when they would "walk out" and just thought that in order to be successful in with the new business and lead a more normal, happy life, she/he would have to be married too just like mr. page was to cathleen. that's why when albert comes to hubert and learns that cathleen had died, there's that awkward moment of offering to move in and run the business together.... and hubert says that they had been in love, albert doesn't really seem to understand how having feelings for another person and being in a relationship works.
shareI don't think so. I think Albert wanted safety, so having a wife meant that she looked normal and would not stand out to others. So there would be safety in appearing to be in a "normal" heterosexual marriage.
Secondly, I think she wanted companionship and friendship, so having a wife meant having a female friend to be around. And maybe she could live through the wife in being able to be so openly female.
As for Albert sexuality, I think she had been living as a male for so long that she had given up any feelings of a sexual nature and was engulfed in a chasm of asexuality. There was the scene where Helen kissed Albert and she did not seem interested in any kind of sexual or even physical contact.