Today Show Interview: Chely Wright prayed to God “please don’t let me be gay” and considered suicide

Chely Wright’s coming out story has touched me so deeply and I think it will tough a lot of other people – gay or straight. For some, you will see a lot of yourself when she talks about the pain of the closet and others – straight people – will hopefully have more understanding and compassion about the coming out process.

The country music star said in an interview on The Today Show this morning that she felt there was no way to reconcile being a lesbian with the rest of her life so she considered ending it: “I had a 9 millimeter gun in my mouth. I was taking inventory of my life and I realized I had pieces that I just couldn’t get to intersect. I was living a secret life and I was very much a country music celebrity, and I saw no way to get those to coexist. I gave up hope and I was ready to take my own life.”

She told Natalie Morales she had known since the third grade that she was different and would pray to God: “Please don’t let me be gay.”

Chely’s decision to come out is pioneering in country music: “I knew that I needed to hide this to achieve my dreams. There had never been an openly gay country music artist. Country music is typically known to be conservative…it’s widely known to be about God and country and family and for some reason people don’t think that can co-exist with being a homosexual.”