After years of hiding in the closet, the Country music singer is enjoying being an openly gay man.

Herndon came out publicly last week and says the support he has received since then ‘just blew my mind.’

‘My life feels open,’ he tells People.com. ‘It feels free, like the weight of the world’s been lifted off my shoulders.’

‘What a Thanksgiving it is,’ Herndon adds. ‘I’m sure there’s some challenging days to come, but today I’m just gonna sit and take this in and know that I’m a much stronger and better person because of all the support and love.’

He’s been able to immediately bask in the support of crowds since he’s touring with Jamie O’Neal and Andy Griggs.

The trio performed in Nashville this week at the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry for a benefit concert.

‘Walking out on that stage as an open, free, happy, godly gay man is not something I thought I’d see in my lifetime … We knew that history was being made up there, and it was humbling.’

Country music has not been seen as welcoming to openly gay artists and Herndon had steadfastly kept his secret when he first hit the charts in 1995 with the single What Mattered Most.

After five years of riding high, the strain took a toll.

By 2000, Herndon was no longer being played on radio and by 2002 he had stopped touring and suffered through a prolonged professional and personal slide.

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