“A photo of my son with a shirt saying, ‘I Love My Gay Dads’ got me 500 messages from people telling me, ‘You’re disgusting.’ On time at an event, a mother yelled at me. ‘Don’t do this in front of your son…or whatever he is…can you even have kids?!’ Here I was, a stay-at-home Papa, completely devoted to raising my child, having to prove I had a right to do so. No matter what, I will always be there for him. We honor our son.”
‘You’re going to be parents!’ Our son has 3 parents who love him. He gave him his name, I gave him biology, and his mom gave him life.’: Gay dads and boy’s mother parent together as Tri-Custody family, ‘the more love a child receives, the better’
‘You are stronger than this. Stop!’ Gay feelings were still there. It was a secret I planned on taking to my grave.’: Man comes out to wife after 10-year marriage, ‘I am grateful for the courage to no longer hide’
“I was on the verge of a breakdown. I had avoided it long enough. I had to tell her. ‘I am gay,’ I said, overcome with emotion one night after work. It was the first time I’d ever said the words out loud. With tears in her eyes, she scooped me in her arms and held me as I wept like a baby. I will never forget that night. Neither of us had any intention of ending our marriage.”
‘If you date a girl, you’re going to hell.’ I broke her heart the instant the words escaped my lips.’: 14-year-old takes in cousin’s daughter as her own, helps her through homosexuality, self-harm, ‘We were always meant to be a family’
“She caught me by surprise. ‘What would you do if I dated a girl?’ I immediately told her, ‘If you date a girl, you’re going to hell.’ The instant the words escaped my lips, something else hit me harder than the fear of my child in hell. I broke her heart. I never thought my child would be gay. I began noticing small cuts on her arms. I was losing her. I would have risked anything for her to find herself and be happy.”
‘There is no turning back. But are you kidding yourself?! Is this sustainable?’: Gay man marries ‘close friend,’ comes out to her years later, now happily lives in mixed-orientation marriage
“I knew my same sex attractions were not going away. I knew I was hurting myself. I knew I was hurting Aleesha and the kids. But it continued to be a secret. I never got caught. Until I came clean. I bawled. ‘So what now? Do you want me to leave?’ We were both sitting there crying, holding each other for dear life. I was surprised to hear, ‘No, never. You are my best friend. I need you to stay. We will figure it out.’ I expected to be kicked out. Yelled at. But none of that happened. I was shown love.”
‘Mom, I’m gay.’ I was crying so loudly. ‘So what? You’re my son. Nothing is going to change.’: Man loses mother to heart attack, wishes he ‘thanked her for her words’
“It was Christmas time. I’d just finished getting my tree and laid down when my brother called. ‘Mom passed.’ Time stopped. Silence. I instantly threw up. The next day, I drove home. The first thing I saw was her pile of presents. She’d wrapped them and when she finished, she sat down and never got up again. I wish I could’ve thanked her, told her how much her words meant to me. I thought I had more time but, out of nowhere, time ran out.”
‘We pulled up to the entrance. I got out of the car. ‘Mom, I’m gay.’ Puzzled, she said, ‘Why are you telling me this now?’ Young man’s harrowing experience coming out to his family
“It felt like I was living a double life. ‘Let’s talk about it more tonight at home, okay?’ I said ‘okay’, and shut the door. Half an hour later, she texted me.”
‘I put it in his hands,’ he said repeatedly, crying and rocking back and forth. I was frozen in shock. The police thought he found my father’s ‘medicine’ in the back of his truck.’
“My heart was beating out of my chest. I didn’t know what to say or do. I silently got up and left. That was the last time I ever saw him.”
‘I was still being bullied. I developed a crush on a cute boy. He told me, ‘Here, take this. It will make you feel so much better. You won’t have any pain.’ I immediately felt like I was on cloud nine.’
“‘Momma, can I come back home?’ I remember thinking, ‘You can’t save me, it’s too late, I am slipping away quickly.’ She kissed my forehead. ‘You are stronger than you know.’ I never heard from my ex again.”
‘I was told, ‘This will jumpstart your desire for women!’ Being gay was NOT an option. It was a ticket to hell.’
“I closed the blinds of my home, stopped answering my phone, and resigned from my position. Two weeks later, I sat in my dining room table with a close friend. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said. I hoped it would be the last time.”
‘It all clicked, and I thought, ‘Oh my God. I’m not straight!’: Woman realizes she is gay after years of repressed emotions
“Here I was, at age 32, realizing this for the first time with a husband and 3 children by my side. I felt utterly alone.”
