Magic Mike star Matt Bomer reveals his parents’ shocking reaction to coming out as gay
Magic Mike actor Matt Bomer has revealed the shocking reaction his parents had when he came out as gay.
Bomer grew up in a Christian, conservative household in Texas, where his parents were not accepting of gay people.
He has now revealed how his parents reacted to the news of his coming out in an interview with Out magazine.
He said the gay publication: āTelling your family is a huge, huge deal.
āI really view my life as divided between the time before I told my parents, and the time after.
āAnd the decisions I made, and the life I lived, before and after, are vastly different. Itās night and day.ā
āThere was radio silence for a long, long time, at least six months,ā he added.
āAnd then I came home and we had the blowup that Iād always feared.
āBut we got that out of the way, and we got down to the business of figuring out how to love each other.ā
The actor has since found love, marrying publicist Simon Halls, who he has three children with.
However it took his family a long time to accept the fact of his sexuality.
āI would say within a matter of years we started to figure it out,ā he says, recalling the period of his life.
āIt was a struggle. Itās a struggle for anybody to take their paradigms and set of beliefs and understandings and completely flip the script.
āSo Iām empathetic toward everyone.ā
He previously recalled dealing with his sexuality as a teen.
Accepting an award from the Inspiration award from the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, he told the audience: āWhen I was in high school, there was no safe haven, there was no outlet for you to speak your mind,ā reported E! online.
āSo I did what any self-preserving 14-year-old would doāI signed up for the school play and also the football team to cover my tracks.
āWhen that happens, when you arenāt allowed to speak about who you are, one of the most authentic parts of who you are, which is who you love or who youāre attracted to, feels invisible,
āGLSEN gives visibility and authenticity to kids all across the country.ā
