Country star Chris Housman has opened up about growing up in a conservative town and coming out as gay.
Housman, 34, appeared on the Rooted Recovery Stories Podcast with host Patrick Custer, where he discussed the series of events that led to him coming out, including secret emails with another person that were shared without his permission.
The Kansas-born singer-songwriter, who has been making waves on TikTok for his performances and LGBTQ+ pride messages, opened up about his own journey toward accepting his sexuality.
“I came out when I was 18, and when I came out I became the first openly gay person I met or met in real life, other than on television,” Housman explained.
The singer-songwriter revealed that coming out right after finishing high school “wasn’t totally” on his terms.
Chris Housman, 34, appeared on the Rooted Recovery Stories podcast with host Patrick Custer, where he discussed the series of events that led to him coming out.
The Kansas-based singer-songwriter revealed that some secret emails between him and another person were shared without his permission.
Housman explained that he had been emailing someone in a neighboring town and telling them he was gay, and then his family sold his computer to someone else who still had some of the messages saved on the desktop.
“(It’s) the smallest town that ever existed,” he told Custer.
“Some of these messages were saved and then started to spread like wildfire because they weren’t in the right hands.”
Housman admitted that the messages that were spread were the catalyst for him telling his parents.
‘I wanted my parents to know it from me and not from a rumor, which I knew was a matter of time,” he explained. ‘So I sat them down and left.’
According to Housman, his parents “didn’t know what to do with that information,” admitting that his coming out “wasn’t great” and that their relationship was still “evolving” to this day.
‘I mean I was the first openly gay person I met, so I’m sure it was The same thing probably happens to them,’ he said.
“They didn’t really have much to say.”
He remembered that his mother had told him that ‘not gay’ and not tell anyone.
Housman’s latest music video for his current single Guilty as Sin shows him mourning the loss of his ex-partner.
The emerging singer-songwriter first rose to fame with his song Blueneck and gained popularity on TikTok for his performances and messages of LGBTQ+ pride.
His latest album, Blueneck, which includes the song of the same name, Guilty as Sin and Bible Belt, focuses on the positive aspects of his relationship with Stoklasa.
‘(She told me) “The boys just go “We’re going through a phase” and “you’re just going through this a little later than usual,” he said.
‘(She said) “Okay, we’ll figure this out just don’t tell anyone,” and I said, well, that’s the thing is, I’m I’m telling you this because people are finding out and I have nothing to be ashamed of either.
Housman said that unfortunately everyone in his family was ‘uHe “felt uncomfortable” with his sexuality, but he was determined to change that.
‘ORunfortunately it is needed exposing people to areas of life other than their own so that they understand something and when you don’t have that “Exposure and personal connection can be more difficult for people,” he added.
Housman also spoke about the years of sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of an older man she considered a close friend when she was just eight years old.
“I just idolized him,” he recalled, explaining that the man was about 12 years older than him.
“Of course my parents trusted him, everyone loved this guy and stuff, but the next thing I know I’m being sexually abused…from eight or nine until I was 14.”
Housman added that, unfortunately, many of his friends had gone through similar things, but he reminded listeners that assault was not the reason he was gay.
“I’ve had some family members who found out that that was happening since then and they think I’m gay because of that and that’s just not the case,” he told Custer.
Housman also talked about coming to terms with his aggression and confronting his abuser, who he says works with children and is now married with a wife and children.
“I still haven’t spoken a word to my parents about being sexually abused,” he admitted, revealing that the only person he told was his older sister, Amanda, describing them both as the “black sheep” of the family.
He said he found his abuser’s landline number and called him, but when he called his wife answered and told him what had happened to her.
“I started telling him that she was just rejecting him and he got on the phone and basically tried to bribe me and denied that anything ever (happened),” she told Custer.
Housman admitted that it was a difficult decision to make, especially now that he was married and had a family, and he had long debated whether to report it or not, but in the end he didn’t.
Housman also spoke about the years of sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of an older man she considered a close friend when she was just eight years old.
The emerging singer-songwriter first rise to fame with his song Blueneck.
The song tells Southern progressives that there should be room for everyone in these “open spaces,” with lyrics like “George Straight or George Gay, it makes no difference.”
Housman’s latest music video for his current single Guilty as Sin, which includes lyrics like “it’s no use acting like this ain’t right,” also shows him mourning the loss of his partner, Abe Stoklasa, whom he lost. last November at the age of 38.
Although they were not dating at the time of his death, his last album, Blueneck, focuses on the positive aspects of his relationship with Stoklasa and tries to create a safe space for other liberal rednecks.
After years of therapy, Housman said he had found peace and learned to accept himself, reminding people struggling with their identity that help is available.
“At the end of the day, no matter how alone you feel, you are not totally alone, and you know that your experience is completely unique to you, but we are not alone,” he said.
