The Reddit user’s Thanksgiving coming out moment didn’t quite go to plan. (Envato)
Spending time with family during the holiday season can be difficult as a queer person, especially if you’re still closeted, but one Reddit user has told a Thanksgiving coming out story with a surprising twist.
Reddit user MysteriousR551 shared a post to the r/LGBT subReddit with the ominous title: “Accidentally outed myself to homophobic aunt on Thanksgiving.”
They explained that they had planned to come out to their dad while home for the holidays, but were finding it hard to catch him alone as the house was full of relatives for Thanksgiving.
“I ended up in a room with my dad, my brother, and my aunt after Thanksgiving dinner,” they wrote.
“My aunt has made homophobic/transphobic comments in the past, so obviously I didn’t want her to know that I’m gay. She asked me if I had a boyfriend and I said ‘no’.”
The Redditer’s aunt, however, refused to let the subject go, and “kept going on and on about how a girl my age should have a boyfriend and that I should be thinking about marriage and kids”.
Although the poster had “heard that many times before”, this time it put them “over the edge”.
They “snapped”, and told their aunt: “Trust me when I say that I will NEVER have a boyfriend. Not that it matters to you but I’m gay!”
Their outbursts was met with “complete silence for the longest time”, before their dad said: “I’m not surprised. I’ve suspected for quite a while. I’ve been waiting for you to tell me when you were ready.
“I don’t care if you like girls or boys or whoever, as long as you’re happy.”
The Redditer burst into tears, and realised that their aunt was crying too. In an incredible twist, the aunt hugged them and “said she was sorry for everything, that if she had known, she wouldn’t have made so many horrible comments”.
While their coming out moment went shockingly well, they noticed that their brother had been the one to stay quiet.
“Based on that, and my previous suspicions over the last couple of years, I have a feeling that my brother will have his own coming out experience someday,” they said.
“Either way, I will still love him and I’m so proud of myself for coming out even though it was an accident.”
One commenter pointed out that the poster had likely done their brother “a massive service showing him he will be accepted and loved after it by family”, adding: “It also means his years coming up to it will be easier and less filled with dread or fear.”
The original poster responded: “I think so too… Even though it didn’t happen the way I wanted it to, I hope it helps him too.”