In a Reddit post, a father recently shared the heartwarming moment his son came out in a particularly emotional way during the current COVID-19 lockdown. 

The father opened up about how he suspected his son might be gay when he brought back a ‘friend’ from college during a period of self-isolation.

The dad went online to find answers about how a parent could create a supportive environment for their LGBT+ child. He wanted his son to feel comfortable in his house during the lockdown, whether he came out or not.

The father wrote on Reddit, “I’ve strongly suspected since his early teens that my son is gay, and I now more or less have confirmation that this is true and that his ‘friend’ is actually his boyfriend.”

During the pandemic, his son returned home to self-isolate and asked if he could bring his friend, who he shares an apartment with.

The father stated, “I said of course, no problem. They’ve been back at mine for about six weeks now. They think they’re being subtle I know, but I’ve caught them doing coupley things on several occasions now.”

On different occasions, the friend would call his son by nicknames such as babe or sweetie. They slept in the same room together and cuddled up while watching movies. Yet the father did not know how to outright ask them if they were dating or how to approach his son on the topic. 

Looking for an open and honest approach, the father posed the question to Reddit, “What I want advice on is this; how do I let my son and his boyfriend know that I’m okay with them being a couple and they don’t have to feel like they have to sneak around in my house?

“I want them to be comfortable here and I want them to know I support them both no matter what.”

Going off the advice he received, the father has posted a touching update to the story after his son came out during lockdown. After dinner one night, he had a chat with his son about what was going on.

He wrote, “I told him face to face “Son, I love you very much. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, but I want you and [friend] to feel comfortable being yourselves in my house and you don’t ever need to hide anything from me, alright?’”

“Son burst out laughing and said ‘oh thank God, I reckoned you’d clicked on but didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to make you feel weird.’

“Basically we’ve each been pussyfooting around the topic because neither one of us wanted to make the other uncomfortable talking about it.”

When his son’s boyfriend joined in on the chat, the father made sure to let him know that he would always be welcome in their family.

He finished the post with, “I’m glad this is something my boy no longer feels he has to keep from me and I’m very glad he’s happy with his partner.”