Roughly nine months after coming out
gay, TJ Osborne on Wednesday kissed his boyfriend before accepting an
award at the CMA Awards.
The Brothers Osborne took home the
prize for vocal duo of the year.
Before accepting the award with brother
John Osborne, TJ kissed his boyfriend Abi Ventura.
In his acceptance speech, TJ said:
“It's been a crazy roller coaster of a year for us in so many ways,
especially for me emotionally. And to have you all support me, it
really does feel like love wins tonight. Thank you.”
TJ, 36, came out publicly in February.
Speaking with PEOPLE magazine backstage
at the ceremony in Nashville, TJ said that he never anticipated the
acceptance he's received since coming out.
"When I came out, I did not know
how that would be received," he
said. "After [I did], there was a lot of positive people
giving me support and loving me. And then there was a part, like,
'What does that mean? Does that turn into the pat on the back and see
you later?'"
"So to go up there tonight and to
actually see people truly and meaningfully invest in who we are and
support what we're doing and what we're about, I thought, Okay, this
is not just a friendly 'I love you' text, this is people really
wanting to pick us up, lift us up and carry us on.”
"Something very positive happened
tonight, and it was so wonderful to experience that,” he added.