I was married wh 2 kids when I realized I'm gay (opn) | CNN

"I REALIZED I WAS GAY": MEN WHO CAME OUT LATER IN LIFE ARE SHARG WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THEM TO REVEAL THAT TTH AND LIVE AUTHENTILLY
WHEN DID YOU REALIZE YOU WERE GAY?
7 PEOPLE SHARE THE MOMENT THEY REALIZED THEY WERE GAY
AM I GAY?
HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY
AM I GAY? HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY?
I FOLLOWED THE SIGNS AND REALIZED THAT I AM GAY
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY
I THOUGHT I WAS GAY BUT NOW I'M QUTNG MY ORIENTATN
WHAT IF YOU ONLY THOUGHT YOU WERE GAY?
I WAS MARRIED WH 2 KIDS WHEN I REALIZED I’M GAY

"I REALIZED I WAS GAY": MEN WHO CAME OUT LATER IN LIFE ARE SHARG WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THEM TO REVEAL THAT TTH AND LIVE AUTHENTILLY

* how i realised i was gay *

When I found out earlier this month, along wh the rt of the world, that one of my favore actors, Kal Penn, is a fellow gay man and now engaged to his long-time partner, I was so happy that he was openly livg his tth. "I realized I was gay last year, after 36 years durg the lockdown. After seeg a gay guy I uld see myself , I started to qutn myself more.

I me out as bisexual at 44 after my stepson me out as gay at 11 years old. "I moved to Ireland jt before the referendum that legalized gay marriage.

WHEN DID YOU REALIZE YOU WERE GAY?

Lren Morelli, the wrer of ‘Orange Is the New Black’ realized she was gay when she was wrg for the show, which was when she was happily married, had been livg liberal ci for many years, was ted and was 31 years old. “How uld she not know earlier?” mt have been the most erated statement when she me out. But, the tth is that we are not given a choice to choose sexualy when we are born. Beg hetero is normative and your unter-realizatn n h at any pot of your life. We asked seven out-of-the-closet gays about the moment they realized they were not straight and their rpons are as ndid as gets. * how i realised i was gay *

Once the untry around me changed and I started seeg more gays the muny, felt safer, and I felt more fortable to e out. I'd fantasize about men and watch gay porn. Part of me felt rponsible for her ath, as if beg bi or gay and my feelgs of regret somehow ed .

I also realized that the label of ‘gay’ ma more sense for me than ‘bi. But when I moved to California and saw more gay people, then I really started to realize . I gus that's the pot I f the fn of 'gay' rather than bi.

I have a lot of stori about folks who were homophobic but me around to acceptg me and honorg me for beg a gay man, once they got to know me beyond what I do bed. In the meantime, I kept watchg gay porn but wouldn't accept and felt guilty after jerkg off to . I me out to my wife many moons ago but took a long time to realize that prayg the gay away wasn’t workg.

7 PEOPLE SHARE THE MOMENT THEY REALIZED THEY WERE GAY

Are you qutng your sexualy? Fd out if you’re gay, straight, bisexual, or asexual. Learn what the terms mean and if they apply to you. * how i realised i was gay *

I’m a good place right now and share my home wh gay iends, as well as adult children. I basilly created my own gay muny. "I fally started serly qutng my early 40s and quickly realized I was gay.

Pl the ‘80s was not a particularly good time to be gay — I thk fear of AIDS was possibly one thg that had me nial. I wonr if I'd accepted I'm gay when I was 20, if thgs would have been much different.

AM I GAY?

How do I know if I am gay? Are there fe signs you are gay? We have answers. Consir the signs you might be gay. * how i realised i was gay *

After spendg years dog all the manly thgs that were supposed to straighten me out, I had a particular weekend — a men-only whewater raftg trip — when I realized I did all the thgs I was aimg for that were supposed to change me, and I was still 100% gay.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY

Am I gay? Some fd this hard to answer. Knowg whether you are gay or straight, though, down to attractns and behavrs. Fd out more. * how i realised i was gay *

Once I knew the gay wasn't gog anywhere, I figured I wanted to be open and hont wh people om then on, regardls of how the rt of my life went. The last thg, you wanted to be was gay, at least my md. Eventually, after a lot of booze and tears, I fally admted I was gay.

So my iend got me to talk to other gay guys and try and accept myself. I'm learng that beg gay is normal and not really a big al.

AM I GAY? HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY?

Kev Maxen, assistant ach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is the first openly gay ach of a U.S. men’s profsnal league sport * how i realised i was gay *

He helped me nont that I was gay and fancied blok. In Lat Ameri and my untry of Venezuela, beg gay is associated wh beg ls of a person.

When I was a kid, I went through all the dumb pre-ter gay kid thgs like lgerg the JCPenny's men’s unrwear sectn. I e om a strict Irish tholic fay, so any of my mannerisms or actns that were ‘too gay’ were discsed by my fay.

Grad school was the first time I was around people who seemed to genuely not re or treat people different bee they were gay. But as the years passed, I realized I was fely gay. When I rennected wh my bt childhood iend who me out to me as bi, I was spired and told him I was gay.

I FOLLOWED THE SIGNS AND REALIZED THAT I AM GAY

Growg up was the whole ‘relig upbrgg/ternalized homophobia’ dance: I liked gay porn, but uldn't adm to myself I was gay.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY

At that pot beme important to e out as the gay man I've always been.

My wife and I are gog to unselg together to work through thgs and while ‘’ has a shelf life, I'm foced on figurg out what beg gay means to me.

I THOUGHT I WAS GAY BUT NOW I'M QUTNG MY ORIENTATN

"At around 28 years old, I had a cent grasp that I'm overwhelmgly gay, wh some rare and specific attractn towards women.

WHAT IF YOU ONLY THOUGHT YOU WERE GAY?

After a few months of experiencg very novel and tense sexual feelgs, I overme my fear of masturbatn and started dog to var kds of straight and gay porn. After the divorce, I me out to my close fay and iends and started my journey of figurg out how to be gay.