"And The Truth Shall Set You Free..."

Artist Paul Robinson on How His Friendships Grew After Coming Out: They 'Tripled in Closeness'

People.com
Caitlin Keating
March 07, 2018

Artist Paul Robinson knew from a young age that he was gay, but he tried to “push it away as if it didn’t exist,” he says.

Robinson says he tried to date girls in high school but felt like a “fraud.” Then at 26, he dated a man for the first time, and when he told a friend about it, he finally felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“My friendships that I thought were very close tripled in closeness after I came out to them,” Robinson, 53, says. “You realize you’re sharing half of your life. Being gay for me is a large part of who I am.”

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In Coming Out Stories, a new video series from PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly, 16 LGBTQ people from all walks of life share how they opened up to friends, family and the world — and how their lives changed.