LGBTQ+ people were not always afforded the same rights they have today, and while there is a long way to go in the fight for equality, more and more members of this community are finding the courage to come out.

But one man who has been in the closet for a lot longer than most is 90-year-old grandfather Kenneth Felts, from Colorado, who found the courage to embrace his true sexuality during lockdown.

Kenneth discusses what it was like to pretend to be straight for 90 years in the video below: 

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In an interview with the 3rd Hour of Today show, the grandfather revealed that he began writing a memoir when the current pandemic began, but he knew that he couldn't complete it unless he came out.

Kenneth, a Navy veteran, said: "I had been keeping this secret most of my life, and I had planned to take it to the grave.

"In 1942, when I was 12, I realized I was gay. If you came out, it really would cost you - your family, your job, all of your relationships. You would immediately be called a pervert."

However, despite living a lie for so long, there was a time when Kenneth did embrace his true sexuality, and he had a two-year relationship with a man named Philip.

Kenneth posted this extract from his memoir about Philip to Facebook.

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The pair broke up because of Kenneth's faith and he went onto marry, have a daughter, and divorce. His daughter Rebecca even came out to him in 1995, but even that wasn't enough to inspire Kenneth to come out at the time.

Then, one night, he finally opened up to his daughter about Philip, telling her that he regretted ever leaving him.

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After Kenneth came out, he took to social media in the hope of being reunited with Philip. However, after an extensive search, it emerged that he had sadly passed away.

The 90-year-old subsequently took to Facebook to pay tribute to the man he described as "the love of my life".

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He wrote: "Phillip Allen Jones was the love of my life. I have a very sad and lonely heart today. My first and greatest love has passed away.

"He lived a full and happy life I am told by his niece. His partner of many years passed just a few years ago and Phillip remained alone for the rest of his life.

"I feel I shared with him the best years of his youth and he certainly made mine memorable and I will always remember and appreciate that.

"I loved him in my heart so much over the years and now he is gone."

Adding: "It is so terribly frustrating to be so close to and yet not reach my lost love and horribly painful to not be able to say goodbye.

"But the whole world now knows what a loving man he was with me and to me while we were together."

As a trans person, coming out to anyone can be difficult, but what if the person you were coming out to was your 86-year-old devoted Catholic grandmother?

That's exactly the situation that Leah Hintz from Florida found herself in last week when she decided to reveal her secret to her family.

Twenty-year-old Leah took to social media on Thursday, 10 May, to live-tweet the entire nerve-wracking experience. But, despite her initial reservations, the situation turned out rather well, with her grandma and father both having heartwarming reactions to her confession and her picture going viral with around 171,000 people likes and over 20,000 retweets.

Just before Leah had the awkward conversation that she was dreading, she tweeted of her anxiety about the situation, posting: "so umm... i'm coming out to my dad and my grandma as a trans woman today!! this is how i'll look when i tell them!! & i'm super nervous!! (please send help)"

However, it turned out that there was no need to be nervous at all. Firstly Leah told her 86-year-old grandma, who responded to the revelation with a truly touching speech, quoted by Leah in her Twitter thread. It read: "'You've always been so kind and sensitive. Now I see femininity in those memories. I'm proud of you for recognizing who you are and living as your true self. You're a beautiful woman and, no matter who you become, I love you.' — my 86-year-old grandmother, learning I'm trans".

In a follow-up, Leah added that she had shown her grandmother the hundreds of replies from touched strangers around the world, describing the elderly woman as "overwhelmed and speechless".

Next up was Leah's father, who had an equally as fabulous reaction to her big reveal. Telling Leah that her make-up looked pretty and that she was his child and he'd love her no matter what, his reaction also warmed hearts all across social media

Recording the conversation, Leah wrote: "Me: ‘So… you can learn to see me as a woman?’ Dad: ‘Of course. You’re my child and I love you. Loving you means supporting you, even if it’ll be a learning experience for me.’"

Describing the family visit as "blessed", Leah also added that her 18-year-old brother had come out as gay and now had a boyfriend. In addition, she asked everyone reading the thread to reach out to a trans person they knew and to tell them that they loved them. Using the hashtag #translivesmatter, she told her followers how important it was to let trans people know that they mattered.

Her moving story proves that you should never underestimate the love and acceptance your family can have for you, they just might surprise you.

A man has spoken out after finding himself in love with his late grandfather's wife.

Mart Soeson - a 48-year-old Estonian lawyer - has spoken out about his complex immigration battle as he endeavors to maintain his residency in Australia alongside his partner, Elfriedie Riit, the 104-year-old widow of his late grandfather.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Soeson is currently involved in an arduous journey toward securing permanent residency in Sydney, Australia.

Among the obstacles he has been faced with, his application - and relationship coming under intense scrutiny from the Department of Home Affairs.

Despite the skepticism surrounding their relationship, Soeson staunchly asserts the genuine nature of the relationship of his "de facto partner" - a sentiment echoed during his rigorous three-hour interrogation at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

During the tribunal hearing, Soeson passionately defended the depth of their connection, emphasizing the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual dimensions of their relationship. "We have intimacy - holding hands, hugs, kissing. We have a spiritual and intellectual relationship. We have a strong emotional connection to each other," Soeson told the tribunal.

After originally having his visa denied, the tribunal asked Soeson if the couple had any sexual intimacy between them - to which he confirmed there had been none. He also admitted that the pair do not share a bedroom.

The couple's journey together spans back to 1996, when Soeson first crossed paths with Riit.

Over time, what began as a familial acquaintance blossomed into a romantic entanglement, with their relationship allegedly solidifying in January 2013 - when he was 37, and she was 92.

He maintains that she was the one to initiate the relationship, telling the tribunal: "She said many times that she wanted someone by her side. She was a widow. She was lonely and helpless.'

Despite being the widow of his late grandfather, Soeson stressed that he never viewed Ritt "grandmother". "I’ve never called her 'grandmother'. There was no grandson-grandmother relationship," he said.

Soeson then moved to Australia to be with Riit in September 2018. He made his home in Bankstown alongside Riit.

However, their story is not without its share of challenges. Riit's ongoing battle with Alzheimer's and bipolar disorder necessitated her transition to an aged care facility in 2022, leaving Soeson grappling with the complexities of their separation. Despite the physical distance, he maintains that their emotional connection remains unwavering.

"What started out as a wholesome bond I had with my late grandfather’s widow slowly but surely turned into a very meaningful and loving relationship," Soeson told the Daily Mail.

Sharing more details about their relationship, Soeson explained: "We don't have many mutual friends. Most of her friends are dead and due to her nature she is a recluse person.

"Even before I met her she was recluse. She liked to stay at home, not to socialize with the people."

He admitted that he feels his application for a visa continues to be denied based on "discrimination".

As they await the tribunal's verdict, Soeson and Riit stand united, but have confirmed that they do not wish to get married.

Featured image credit: prmoeller / Getty

A gay man who recently came out to his grandfather has shared the wholesome response he received - and it has left Twitter users in tears.

Make no mistake, homophobia - even in the Western world - is still very much a thing. So, when a young man named Travis came out to his grandpa, people were overwhelmed by the loving response he received.

Earlier this week, Travis, under the handle @chipotletwink, took to Twitter to share the loving text message his grandpa sent him following his coming out.

Alongside two screenshots, the young man wrote: "Finally came out to my grandpa and his response is so [teary-eyed emojis]."

His grandpa's lengthy text begins: "Well Travis, I guess you're saying you're 'coming out'. First of all, our suspicions of this began many years ago, It's not something easily hidden but it certainly wasn't for us to come forth and ask you.

"Your mom is right, we don't care, we love you, want you to be happy and wish you success, and will support you with whatever you choose to do with your life. I just don't want you to sell yourself short."

The grandpa then goes on to say that he is sorry Travis was "afraid" to approach him and talk openly about his sexuality.

"I thought I told you several times in the past that you can talk freely with me about anything that concerns you. Even in 2021 though, this can be a tough path for people to follow. Being heterosexual is much easier as you don't face possible criticism and prejudice."

He then adds that Travis' boyfriend, Enrique, seems like a very nice man, and he'd welcome him over with open arms anytime.

"Love you," he signs off the sweet message.

Since the tweet was posted just days ago, it has managed to rack up 8.5K retweets and over 200K likes.

Travis even posted a photo of him and his boyfriend in a follow-up tweet.

Needless to say, the original message made a lot of people very emotional.

One person said: "I'm going to cry so much right now. wish my parents could tell me the same things, but no. they're radical homophobic."

Another said: "Now I’m crying, my experience was the exact opposite."

A third joked: "Who is cutting onions in here?"

The grandpa also received plenty of praise for being so accepting of his grandson:

And some people shared their own coming out stories:

Overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support his post received, Travis later wrote in a separate tweet: "the replies under this are so sweet. im glad everyone is being nice to each other [sic]".

Featured image credit: Marc Bruxelle RF / Alamy Stock Photo

One grandpa's response to his grandson coming out has warmed hearts on social media once again as the post continues to be a source of inspiration.

It would appear that there wasn't a dry eye in the house when Twitter user @chipotletwink shared how his grandfather reached out to him following the news that he was gay, and many Twitter users were quick to call the interaction the blueprint for how family members should react.

@chipotletwink, real name Travis, shared screenshots of the sweet text message conversation, he captioned the post: "finally came out to my grandpa and his response is so [teary-eyed emoji]."

The grandfather made his unwavering love and support known to Travis, starting the heartfelt text with: "Well Travis, I guess you're saying you're 'coming out.' First of all, our suspicions of this began many years ago. It's not something easily hidden but it certainly wasn't for us to come forth and ask you."

Travis' mother shared the news with his grandparents after he came out to the family, and the grandpa echoed the same supportive sentiment: "Mom is right, we don't care, we love you, want you to be happy and wish you success and will support you with whatever you chose to do with your life."

"I just don't want you to sell yourself short," the message continued, "I'm truly sorry you were afraid to approach us on this subject, especially if it caused you anxiety & stress."

The loving grandparent assured their grandchild that they will always have an open line of communication on any topic, something many in the comments highlight that not everyone is lucky to have when it comes to being queer.

"I thought I told you several times in the past that you can talk freely with me about anything that concerns you," he said, but understood that even in this day and age, many people are still unaccepting.

The grandpa then went on to highlight that they appreciate the difficulties people in the LGBTQ+ community face, writing: "Being heterosexual is much easier as you don't face possible criticism and prejudice."

"Enrique seems like a very nice guy and he'll be welcome here anytime. Love you," he capped off the internet-breaking text, proving that Travis' granddad is the ultimate ally.

At the time of writing, the Twitter post has been liked a whopping 206,000 times and retweeted over 8,000 times as users can't stop praising the grandpa's handling of the uplifting coming out story.

In a later post, Travis shared a picture with his love Enrique, who he had first told his family about when he came out, the caption read: "and this is my amazing boyfriend enrique @Onrickk."

The feel-good story had everyone sharing words of adoration for the grandpa in the tweet's replies, with one user writing: "Awe! Love your grandpa!! That is so so cool to hear esp coming from a GrandPa. We need more peps like him. Big HOLA to him. PLUS Enrique is already accepted. Oh Wow! [sic]."

Travis' post incited others to share their positive coming out stories, with another reply reading: "That is awesome. Congrats man. I told [my] grandma 12 years ago. Was the first person I came out [to] and her exact words were 'it's about God damn time.'

"Appears the only one who didn't know was me for the longest time."

And, as you can probably imagine, the heartwarming exchange left many people in tears:

Featured image credit: iliya Mitskovets / Alamy