A gay man shared his heartbreaking story on Reddit, and also asked for advice on how he should proceed.
A redditor shared the story of how he was eventually kicked out of his house by his parents. The opening post explains that the 22-year-old man was living with his conservative parents and his two younger sisters (16-year-old Anne and 17-year-old Beth).
Everything was fine at first, but then he started to discover his sexuality.
“Around age 18 I started to realize I was gay and I spent the next few years working up courage/deciding whether to tell them. I was able to tell Beth. She was super supportive of me. I thought I was close enough with my dad that I could tell him, but I was wrong”
His parents then told him he had to go to therapy to get “fixed” or he would tarnish the family name. When he refused to do so, his parents kicked him out.
The redditor shares that he was able to get himself a cheap room in the next town over with the help of money he raised at his job and stayed there for months. During that time, he ended up in a relationship with his roommate.
But, as good as some of his life was going, the part involving his family would only get worse.
Even though he never talked to his parents during those months, the OP states the man has kept in touch with his sisters.
“Beth called me to talk about family holiday plans. Turns out my parents told my entire extended family that I committed sexual assault, am now a sex offender, and thus been banned from family holidays.”
“However, nobody believed them. I like my extended family and they like me, so I’m not sure why my parents thought this lie would gain any traction…but fortunately it didn’t.”
“Beth said she and Anne talked to a lot of them and told them the truth."
Luckily, it seems his extended family was kinder than his immediate one. They allegedly berated the parents for kicking out their son despite the fact that they too are conservative.
“And now, as a result, my parents have “realized their mistake” and they want to reach out to me and apologize.”
This is where the post turned in to the question/advice section.
“My mom left a voicemail an hour ago and I don’t know how to respond to it.”
“They have un-banned me from the upcoming Thanksgiving gathering, and while I’d love to go and see my relatives, I’m furious that my parents not only kicked me out for being myself, but also lied to my family to vilify me and absolve themselves of any guilt.”
“I don’t want to see them or talk to them at all right now, and not for the forseeable future. What should I do?”
Other redditors were, of course, ready to hand out their opinions and advice.
Some simply responded, “Don’t,” while others gave more length to their responses.
"Find some other time to reconnect with your relatives. If you go, your parents will just use you in an attempt to get back in your relatives' good graces and it will be unpleasant for all," said one commenter.
"Your parents aren't 'regretful,' they are being shamed socially and want relief from that. I doubt they have changed their mind at all," said another.
But ultimately, the OP hasn’t made a decision yet. Still, he is being cautious as he looks at his options.
“I’m going to talk to my aunt (the host) and see what can be done about my parents.”
“I can’t decide if I should decline the event or go anyway just to spite my parents, but I’m probably going to be miserable either way.”
“One of my cousins has already reached out to me and invited me to her nuclear family’s personal dinner.”
Note: As interesting and readworthy as this story is no matter what, there is some concern for whether it's real. The reddit account that shared it has deleted the post's text since it was originally posted two days ago.
In addition, the account has no earlier posts or comments besides this one.
