Lanarkshire woman feared her sexual orientation would leave her abandoned by friends and family
iOS - Android Though she stayed on at school until S5, it wasn't until college where Maggie enjoyed life more freely and where she found her first love.She came out to her best friend and mum aged 17, but didn’t initially receive the response she hoped for.
Maggie, now of Wishaw, told us : “Once at college I met my first female partner and for the first time truly fell in love. "I came out to my best friend at 17, then came out to my mum shortly afterwards.“My mum responded by saying, ‘well I always brought you up to be normal, so I don’t understand this’.“In time my mother accepted me for the person I am and we had a wonderful relationship until her sad passing in 2019.“Growing up, I literally felt like I was the 'only gay in the village'.
Life was really difficult."But my back story or one similar could be told by countless LGBT people then - and even now.“I feared being outed, ostracised and, most of all, abandoned by my family.
