This Gay Mormon is Happily Married to a Woman

Josh Weed knew he was gay when he was 11-years-old. A devout Mormon, he waited and waited for his attraction to girls to settle in when he finally realized “oh, this thing for guys is its replacement.” When he told his parents, they were loving and supportive and he credits them for helping him become the well adjusted man he is today. What makes Weed different? He’s happily married to a woman. 

In his FAQ, Weed explains why he and his wife have decided to share this part of their relationship. The first reason comes from Weed’s work as a therapist, writing, “my clinical work as a therapist is taking me in the direction of helping clients who struggle to reconcile their sexual orientation with their religious beliefs. I have decided to be open with these clients about my own homosexuality, and in doing so have opened the door to people finding out about this in ways I can't control.” He also writes that he chose to share his identity with the world because he believes homosexuality is not very well understood and that his desire to be more open was overwhelming. 

While the Mormon Church has recently reaffirmed their stance on gay marriage (surprise-they don’t support it), Weed shares in his lengthy blog post how much support he was received not only from his parents and his wife, but his community. His decision, he writes has “deepened my friendships and enhanced my interactions, and it has also helped me to feel more accepted by others as it allows others the opportunity to choose to accept me for who I really am.” 

However, Weed still believes that marriage should always remain between a man and a woman, even stating that he and his wife continue to have a “healthy and robust sex life.” Weed and his wife chose to stay married because they felt that by Weed living a “gay lifestyle,” he would be sacrificing his religion and the ability to have a biological family. 

Although Weed has chosen to stay with his wife and three daughters, clutching to a life he has loved fully, he encourages others in similar circumstances to be strong, and he encourages those who know someone in a similar position to simply love that person and “embrace them, both literally and figuratively. I promise they need it ... Accept them. Love them. Genuinely and totally.”