Don't Give Up on People - Phases Archive

My parents both were initially, in different ways, not immediately accepting... My mum, who I told first, was like, “it’s my fault. I’ve done something wrong.” It’s like, “no. I just like girls as well as men. It’s nothing you’ve done.” And she became the fiercest ally, absolutely. If anybody said anything negative, she was right there. She accepted my wife immediately as her second daughter... So she had to go through that journey.

And my dad... went to America and later became a born-again Christian... and we had no contact for many years. When we did get back in touch, he was not accepting at all... I really had to say, “if you want a relationship with me, you have to respect me... or else we’re not going to have any contact”... So I cut contact for a while, and eventually he came around... He even challenged my younger siblings at times, which was a really big deal... I think it’s a testament to the fact that people can change, but you really have to work at that. And it’s also okay just to cut them out of your life because we shouldn’t have to put up with that. But I guess don’t give up on people.