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It was very hard. It was something I'd been toying with for probably the last couple of years because I knew I wanted a closer relationship with my family. And for the last few years I was not that close with them just because of this one thing. They could never meet the people that I love. I have a sister [Stacy, 30]. I told her a year ago. I was at her house for Christmas. It was so hard because it took me forever to finally get it out. I finally blurted it. I'm like, "I'm gay." And she started laughing because she thought I was joking. And I was like, "I'm not kidding." And she went white. She immediately started crying and left, and I was like, "Great." She went downstairs, and my brother-in-law, who is the biggest country boy, man of men, she went straight to him. And I was like, "I didn't want Ford to know!" He comes up with her and he was so collected. He goes, "I don't care." And my sister was like, "The only reason I'm crying is because I think it's going to kill our parents."
How did they react?
The worst part about it was my mom found out not from me. She found out on the Internet, and that's what just killed me. She'd read an article about the rumors and stuff and she Googled and found all these things. She went over to my sister's house and was like, "Is it true?" And my sister was like, "Yes, it is." And she broke down and it destroyed her for a little bit.
It really does hurt knowing that they're going to have to live with this back home [in Clinton, Miss.], in a place where it's not looked at very highly. Their biggest concern was the family. And they told their parents – both sets of grandparents are still alive. That's what I was really concerned about because they come from an older generation, Mississippi, Deep South. My mom was really going nuts having to tell them. So she told them last week. And I get a call from my Mimi, my grandma, my mom's mom. She was like, "You know what? I may not agree with it, but I love you just the same and you're welcome in my house anytime." They took it so well.
