Caleb Shomo is aligning with his true self.
On Saturday, the 33-year-old, who serves as the lead singer in rock band Beartooth, shared a deeply personal truth he’s been struggling to come to terms with for years: he’s gay. In a lengthy Instagram post, Caleb informed fans:
“There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding my personal life as of late and I feel compelled to set the record straight before it affects those I love any further. I am a proudly gay man.”
Related: Hayden Panettiere Comes Out As Bisexual: ‘Better Late Than Never, Right?’
Detailing his lengthy struggle to come to terms with his truth, he continued:
“This is something I’ve been unpacking and reckoning with in my life for quite some time now. It’s been difficult to navigate the feelings surrounding the subject and figure out what to do with this fact.”
He went on to detail how his sexuality — and his difficulty accepting it — has manifested in “self hatred” in his music for years:
“When it comes to my art/Beartooth, I have always strived to chase who I am in the deepest part of my soul from album to album. As you could gather if you’ve followed the band at all in the earlier years, there are 4 very self deprecating albums about exploring my religious upbringing, depression, self hatred, self loathing, and hopelessness. I am grateful for all these albums, yet feel embarrassed at times that I wouldn’t allow myself to really dig up the roots for so long.”
He continued:
“I spent a decade burying feelings with alcohol, and honestly when I decided to put it down and focus on exploring why I felt this way for so long, it’s been a direct path to me reconciling with my sexuality in hopes that it will eventually lead me to experiencing self love.”
We hope so! Everyone deserves to experience self love.
Going forward with his music, Caleb has vowed to be as authentic as possible:
“One thing I decided before I wrote a single lyric or note of the upcoming album is that whatever happens, I will express myself whole heartedly and fully. Wherever it takes me I will follow and I refuse to water any part of it down, from the music, to the lyrical content, and any way I portray myself. I will only do what makes me happy at the deepest level and what is the most honest depiction of who I am. I believe it’s impossible to love every part of you when you won’t face every part of you head on. I am trying to finally be proud of who I am and I think this is a massive part of that journey.”
We’re proud of him for getting to this point!
Caleb went on to thank those in his life for their support:
“To those who have shown me love, empowerment through living life freely and openly in my presence, supporting the queer community, or simply telling me you love me whoever I am, I am forever in your debt and I hope you know what you mean to me. I encourage anyone who is struggling with who they are to give yourself grace. Give yourself patience. Be honest with yourself. Do the hard work instead of burying it down as deep as you physically can thinking it will change like I did. Holding these things in only hurt you and those around you.”
He left off:
“Love you all, and hopefully this is a step in the right direction to loving myself one day.
— Caleb Shomo”
WOW! How powerful! See his post HERE.
Related: Tennessee Father Sues Gay Son For Conversion Therapy Costs — Judge’s Reaction Is MUST-WATCH!
Amid the revelation, attention quickly turned to Caleb’s love life, as he has been married to wife Fleur Shomo for nearly 14 years!
However, the same day Caleb came out, she also took to Instagram to share her complex feelings:
“Not really sure how to start this cause does anything even need to be said? But I guess I’ll just dive right in. The past few months have been a very disorientating and hurtful time to navigate. For both of us. But I will always love, protect, and support Caleb. I have cared more about his well being over the years than anyone else in the world. To see the confusion and pain he went through and the highs and lows and wanting to help but not knowing how. You never want anything more for your person than for them to just be ok. You also ask yourself constantly if you’re a bad person for wondering wtf this means for you and for your world & the anger you also feel. I am the only person that is having to deal with the duality of this situation. To support him whilst losing everything has been incredibly hard to figure out. You can love and support your person through the hardest time in their life, whilst also be completely demolished & lose yourself at the same time. You question everything. But I have learned the one thing I don’t need to question is our history. No matter what anyone will say, I know it.”
What a complex reality to navigate for Fleur. She continued:
“I have always wanted nothing more than for Caleb to be happy. Trying to help him go through this without having any idea what to do, has been a learning curve we never expected to experience together. The isolation of not being able to talk to people about this has been profound, as it has not been my story to share. My mental health has suffered & I have had moments where I have not felt or acted like myself. For those that have known & been there, thank you. I’ll never be able to repay your kindness.”
Reflecting on her lengthy marriage with Caleb, Fleur continued:
“Our nearly 14yrs of marriage was wonderful and full of so much fun, adventure, & love. Nobody will know anything about our marriage like we do. And no one can ever truly know what depths of love exist between two people unless they are those people. I already miss it & my husband more than anything. Our story was a good one. And now it’s done.”
Awww.
She left off:
I hope anyone in the world going through this finds hope & courage & I hope the fans can continue to support Caleb. For now I’m going to keep focusing on what I can control & continue living my life trying to achieve what I want to achieve. And if I keep saying hi to as many dogs as possible along the way, then I’m sure things will slowly get better, day by day, piece by small piece, bird by bird.”
Our support is with Caleb as he continues to come to terms with his true self, and with Fleur as she navigates supporting Caleb while mourning their marriage and moving forward.
What are YOUR reactions, Perezcious readers??
To learn more about advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, check out https://www.glaad.org/
[Images via BEARTOOTHband/YouTube & MEGA/WENN]