Country music star Chely Wright says
coming out lesbian has allowed her to “come together.”
Sunday's Chicago gay pride parade will
feature the 39-year-old singer-songwriter as grand marshal.
Wright came out gay in an interview
with People magazine in May. In that interview, Wright called
her coming out “magical” and revealed that she once believed she
could alter her sexual orientation by praying it away.
Wright, who released her eighth studio
album, Lifted Off The Ground, and a memoir titled Like Me
on May 4, told Access Hollywood that she cut off “cold
turkey” former boyfriend Brad Paisley once she realized the damage
she was doing living a lie.
In a new interview with the Chicago
Now blog Redeye released
Friday, Wright said coming out has brought her peace.
Leading gay parades is the antithesis
of a lifetime hiding in the closet. She said she had promised
herself to take the secret to her grave.
“And here I am, walking on stage,
arms in the air, you know? 'I'm gay! I'm really gay!' I don't feel
like I just came out, I feel like I came together,” she said.
Wright is set to appear at the N. Clark
Borders Books at 4PM on Saturday and ride in Sunday's gay pride
parade.