Raven Symoné just opened up about the challenges she faced after coming out as lesbian a decade ago.
While accepting the Icon Award at the 9th Annual Better Brothers Los Angeles Truth Awards on March 6, the That’s So Raven star shared that she experienced challenges when she began living life as her authentic self.
“There were a lot of challenges,” she said, per The Jasmine Brand. “There was the crumbling of the wall that I had put up for so many years. And I felt very vulnerable, it was an interesting wound that was opened up in public.”
Symoné knew she was gay at a young age but was afraid to come out because of her on-screen persona.
“I never thought I would come out because my personal life didn’t matter,” she said in an “It Gets Better” video released in 2016, according to People.
However, those fears were replaced with liberation once she began being herself.
“I felt lighter. I felt like I could go out and not have to put on 17 different hats to be myself,” she said. “I realize that just living my truth of what I am, there’s one less person to fight me in my own head.”
Since coming out, Symoné has gotten married to Miranda Maday and has been making it a priority to showcase representation in her work.
“I want to make sure I’m creating content that reflects the community that we’re a part of,” she said. “Respectfully and with dignity.”
