I, late-50s straight cis man, found out that a man that I had worked with for 20 years was gay. I had never given his sexual preference and thought and didn't care either way. His boyfriend asked me not to say anything at work because he wasn't out. I said I wouldn't.

That year we invited them to our Christmas party. The boyfriend came but the guy from work didn't. The boyfriend said that he didn't come because he was afraid that people from work would be there find out.

I talked to him a couple of months later and told him that he should come out. I told him that people at work would say either, "I know/I suspected" or, "I don't care I just want you to process this paperwork." Later he told me that he had come out at work and that I was exactly right about people's reactions.

Being closeted to your family is extremely stressful. I hope you find a way to come out and that they accept you.

My daughter came out to me several years ago. I love her more than life itself.