Christian rock star comes out as gay to his wife and the world

Trey Pearson, the lead singer of American Christian rock band Everyday Sunday has come out as a gay man.

On Tuesday, the thirty-something Pearson, who is married to a woman, stated on the four-member group’s Facebook page: “To my fans and friends: I’m finally being honest with myself. I love you all.”

He included a link to an article in which he opened up about his sexuality. The article features a letter by Pearson, a father of two children, in which he wrote:

“These last several months have been the hardest—but also have ended up being the most freeing months—of my life. To make an extremely long story short, I have come to be able to admit to myself, and to my family, that I am gay.”

The rocker explained: “I never wanted to be gay. I was scared of what God would think and what all of these people I loved would think about me; so it never was an option for me. I have been suppressing these attractions and feelings since adolescence. I’ve tried my whole life to be straight. I married a girl, and I even have two beautiful little kids…

“I had always romanticised the idea of falling in love with a woman; and having a family had always been my dream. In many ways, that dream has come true. But I have also come to realise a lot of time has passed in my life pushing away, blocking out and not dealing with real feelings going on inside of me. I have tried not to be gay for more than 20 years of my life.”

Pearson went on to say that his wife, Lauren, has been supportive and understanding about his coming out and that he is now “trying to figure out how to co-parent while being her friend…”

He also slammed pastors who “instil this fear of ignorance” and “don’t realise how damaging what they are doing is for so many people”.

The singer said his coming out was an immense relief: “It is like this weight I have been carrying my whole life has been lifted from me, and I have never felt such freedom.”

Pearson’s Facebook update received hundreds of mostly positive comments with an overwhelming number of fans, liking or “hearting” the post.