90-Year-Old Man Comes Out as Gay After Decades of 'Keeping Secret'

A 90-year-old granddad has come out as gay after decades of hiding who he really was.

Kenneth Felts, from Colorado, took the brave step after realising during lockdown that he no longer wanted to live a lie.

Speaking on the 3rd Hour of Today show in the US, Kenneth said he had begun writing a memoir following the start of the pandemic, but felt it wouldn't be complete if he didn't open up about his sexuality.

Kenneth, a Navy veteran, said: "I had been keeping this secret most of my life, and I had planned to take it to the grave.

"In 1942, when I was 12, I realised I was gay. If you came out, it really would cost you - your family, your job, all of your relationships. You would immediately be called a pervert."

But Kenneth hasn't always hid his true feelings - he once had a two-year relationship with a man, named Phillip.

Kenneth Felts/Facebook

Looking back at that time, Kenneth said: "It was a void in my life that had suddenly been filled by another person who, apparently, had some of the same needs.

"And we just melted into each other."

Sadly the couple broke up due to Kenneth's religious beliefs, and he has since been married and divorced, and even had a daughter, called Rebecca, who came out as gay to him in 1995.

But it wasn't for another 25 years that Kenneth was able to do the same.

"One day I was talking to Rebecca and I just happened to mention, 'I wish I had never left Philip,'" he said.

He has since shared the news on social media, receiving a huge amount of support from people.

And he recently managed to find out what had happened to the 'love of his life', Phillip.

Sharing a picture of his former partner, Kenneth revealed that he had sadly passed away.

He wrote: "Phillip Allen Jones was the love of my life. I have a very sad and lonely heart today. My first and greatest love has passed away.

"He lived a full and happy life I am told by his niece. His partner of many years passed just a few years ago and Phillip remained alone for the rest of his life.

"I feel I shared with him the best years of his youth and he certainly made mine memorable and I will always remember and appreciate that.

"I loved him in my heart so much over the years and now he is gone."

Adding: "It is so terribly frustrating to be so close to and yet not reach my lost love and horribly painful to not be able to say goodbye.

"But the whole world now knows what a loving man he was with me and to me while we were together."

Topics: Inspirational, Relationships, Feels, Free to Be

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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