17 Heartwarming Coming-Out Stories That Are Guaranteed To Touch Your Heart

"He told me that it was okay, he still loved me, and I was beautiful just the way I was."

We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community for their heartwarming coming-out stories. Here are some of their touching responses:

1. "I knew I was a lesbian for a while before I came out, but I was terrified to tell my parents..."

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"Eventually, sick of hiding it, I decided to do it via Christmas present. I customized a lesbian Pride flag to say, 'I love my lesbian daughter.' My mom opened it and read it aloud. Immediately, both parents wrapped me in a hug as they cried and said things like 'it’s okay' and 'we love and accept you no matter what.' They assured me they just wanted to see me happy.

Here’s a picture of the flag!"

—magnoliaj

2. "The first person I came out to was my best friend..."

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"I was struggling because I couldn’t really accept who I am. We were just chilling one day when I told her that I had something to say, and I told her that I was gay. She hugged me and didn’t make a big deal about it.

A few days later, she called me over, and when I arrived at her place, she'd baked a rainbow cake for me. A few people were over. Turned out that she had a few gay friends varying from twink to drag to casual to bear gay, and she wanted me to meet them. We hung out for a few hours, and I realized there isn’t a 'normal gay.' I had a better time accepting who I am.

It's still a struggle in today’s society, but that moment helped me so much, and I will forever in my heart thank her for that."

—lgbtqueerguy

3. "I came out as trans at work this year..."

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"Since I work at a middle school, that included my students. The morning of my announcement, my hands were shaking when I walked into the classroom. I took a deep breath and explained to a room of fifth, sixth and seventh graders how I had been born Kevin but would now be Valerie. After my talk, the kids were given the opportunity to write down any questions or comments for me. By the end of the day, I had a stack of excellent questions and some of the sweetest comments ever — one student even told me we were BFFs.

From that day until the end of the year, the kids were amazing about my transition. They put a concerted effort into getting my pronouns right and to say Mrs. instead of Mr. It was the start of my social transition, and I'll never forget how helpful they were."

—valerie_d

4. "I came out through the medium of badges — in true gay form..."

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"I ordered a handful of badges, most of them just feminist slogans like I’d done before, but this time I ordered an extra one. It was a badge that had a little line of tents in pride colors, and the slogan said, ‘I’m camper than a row of tents.' When they were delivered, I took them to my mum to show her, keeping the pride one until the end. Once I got to that one, I held it up and waited for her to read and process it. When she did, she looked at me and said, 'Are you trying to tell me something?' I just nodded, and she pulled me into this really tight hug and said she loved me and supported me no matter what. That was two years ago, and this year, she and my dad told me that if Pride had gone ahead, they would have come to give free parental hugs to anyone whose parents don’t accept them for who they are."

—riptitanic

5. "I came out to my mental health counselor in 2016..."

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"I showed them the trailer to Love, Simon because sometimes during my sessions, I would show them videos and photos of things I liked or could relate to. After showing them the video, they asked if I identified with a letter in the LGBTQ acronym. I replied that I identified with the B (Bisexual). While it was a bit of a surprise for me to come out that way, I'm glad the first person I came out to was supportive of me."

—lightheart16

6. "I came out to my mom over the phone because of social distancing, and I didn’t know how long it would be until I saw her again..."

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"I didn’t have the best experience coming out to my dad and step-mom, so I was having a lot of anxiety about it. I came out to my mom as pansexual, and she was actually really supportive. She told me that I was a beautiful, smart, amazing young woman, and my sexuality doesn’t change that at all. She said it didn’t change how she viewed me as a person. I almost cried because of how happy I was, and she said she just wished she could give me a hug. I was so happy, and I'd never felt more supported. She said that if I didn’t end up with a man, and I didn’t feel comfortable or wanted with my dad and step-mom, I could spend Christmas and Thanksgiving. I love my mom so much, and I am so grateful for her."

—faithlaa

7. "I came out when I was 14, but it was a bit of a surprise to me as well..."

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"I had finally accepted myself and wanted to tell my mom, but I was nervous, though I knew she would accept me.

I was taking a BuzzFeed quiz to reveal my celeb wife. And I yelled to my sister excitedly that I got Kristen Stewart because who wouldn't be excited? And my mom turned and asked me if I was gay. I hadn't expected this at all, so I stuttered, 'Um, I like both,' and she just smiled.

I always tell my friends this story because it was so unexpected and kinda my perfect way to come out."

—auroracapes

8. "I came out while my mom and I were watching Talk Show the Game Show..."

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"During the lightning round, one of the questions was something along the lines of, 'According to the survey, this percentage of Americans identify as what sexual orientation?' The answer was 'bisexual,' and I turned to my mom and said, 'I'm part of that percentage.' She was a bit caught off guard, so I explained to her that when I watched Wonder Woman, I wanted to kiss Diana as much as I wanted to kiss Steve Trevor. Now whenever encouraging me to go out and be social, my parents make a point of saying I might meet a nice boy OR girl."

—hannahc20

9. "I was 16 when I started coming out to my friends as pan..."

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"I decided that I also wanted to come out to my brothers (I’m the middle child and only girl). I told my older brother first. When I said that I liked boys and girls, he looked RELIEVED and started laughing before saying, 'So do I!'

It was adorable, and it makes me so happy that we came out to each other on the same day. My little brother’s reaction was really funny. He was just like, 'Cool, now we can talk about hot actresses.'"

—satanherself

10. "We were laying on my now-wife's dorm room bed, and I just felt this overwhelming urge to tell her..."

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"We had only been dating a few weeks, but I risked it and told her I felt like I should be a boy. She surprised me and said she always felt like she should have been a girl. It still took us years to come to terms with everything and transition, but I am so glad she took it so well when I came out to her."

—marcs4404e432c

11. "I had come out to my friends as bisexual earlier that week, and to my boyfriend earlier that day..."

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"Honestly, it went great. That night, I told my mom. I was so nervous. Thinking back, there wasn't a huge reason to be nervous because she has always supported the LGBTQ+ community, and we knew a lot of people in it. It was the most casual thing in the world. I told her, and she said, 'Okay. I love you.' I cried. I was so happy. Later that year, I went to my first Pride. She joined Free Mom Hugs and got a T-shirt. I never officially came out to my other family members, but they saw pics of me at Pride in my bisexual shirt. Last June, my grandmother bought a pair of rainbow socks to support me. She was so happy about it, and it made me so happy."

—rose2105

12. "I came out on accident..."

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"During a conversation with my parents, they asked me whether there was anything else I needed to tell them, because if so I should just come to them and talk about it. I don't think they expected me to immediately jump on it. Neither did I, to be honest. I just thought to myself, 'What if I just tell them that I am pansexual?' except it was said out loud. Although they weren't prepared for it, they were incredibly supportive and still are. I am so incredibly happy that I am out of the closet. And it's still nice whenever they ask about a potential boy or girlfriend, accepting who I am and will always be."

—veerxhenk

13. "When I was 19, I visited my sister; it was the first time we had seen each since I was a baby (over 15 years)..."

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"I was telling her about my life and showing her pictures from college on my phone when we scrolled past a screenshot of a pride watch I wanted to get for my best friend. I tried to skip past it really fast, but she saw it and immediately asked, 'Sis, are you gay?' I said, 'No?' And she told me not to lie to her, so I said, 'Yes.' She hugged me and said she loved me! She totally accepts me for who I am, and I could not be happier that we got back in touch."

—hildarod

14. "I didn't come out as bisexual until I was 32 years old, married with two kids..."

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"I had this fear that if my husband wasn't supportive, he'd leave me, and I'd lose everything: my kids, my house, my life. It was a very heavy feeling. It was so stressful that when I sat on the couch trying to tell him, I couldn't take it anymore. I hid behind the couch and started crying. I finally got the words out, and he came around and sat down beside me among the dust bunnies. He told me that it was okay, he still loved me, and I was beautiful just the way I was. It reminded me of why I married him in the first place."

—mcrose1186

15. "The most important one to me was coming out to my cousin, who I’m really close to..."

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"We went to a party, and a girl asked me out. I had been questioning my sexuality for a while, but this confirmed my suspicions: I was bi. That night, we were walking home, and I told him about it. He was quiet for a little while, and I got worried that he wouldn’t support me. Then, he asked, 'How do you feel?' I told him I felt the happiest I'd ever felt. He smiled and responded that he thought bisexual should be the new normal, and then he hugged me. I just knew that he accepted me for who I am."

—lunalovegoodisincredible

16. "We were in a pub having a drink, and I wanted to tell my friends that I was gay..."

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"I plucked up the courage to tell my best friend. She was totally fine with it and encouraged me to tell everyone else. So we joined the rest of the group, and I told them. They were all happy that I could be honest with myself, so we just carried on drinking and dancing the rest of the night."

–lonelyrainbow

17. "I came out as bi in high school at 16..."

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"The week I decided I was ready, I tried to tell at least one friend every day at school leading up to telling my parents on the weekend. I was walking down a hallway with my best friend and decided to tell her, but I got interrupted by another friend (who I wasn’t out to yet) grabbing me for an emergency meeting on a group project. Literally, all I managed to say was 'I’m–' before getting yanked away with my friend looking at me like I had grown an extra head.

Eventually, I did tell her, and her response was to laugh and say, 'Oh my god, I thought you were going to tell me something terrible!' She also gave me the best advice in the world that day: as long as you love yourself and are happy with who you are, other people will be too."

—thatgirla

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Do you have a heartwarming coming out story? Let us know in the comments below!

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