“When the last kid left for college, it came to a point where...

“When the last kid left for college, it came to a point where it was just pretense. And I couldn’t hide it anymore. I was tired of worrying if people suspected, or if they’d find out, or if they’d still care about me if they knew. The first person I came out to was my wife. It was wrenching. It was the end of our marriage. I just kept telling her I was sorry. I think she felt abandoned. And I’m sorry for that. I also think she felt that our life together was a lie. But I don’t see it that way. We were a family. We had four wonderful children that we raised to adulthood. And those are facts. I’m not happy about the hurt I caused. But I feel authentic now. I regret the things I did, but I’m so happy about what I’ve done.”