Braunwyn Windham-Burke is living her most authentic life. The Real Housewives of Orange County star, 43, officially came out during an interview with GLAAD — Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation — on December 2 and was so excited to live her truth in the public eye. “I like women. I’m gay,” the reality TV star proudly announced. “I’m a member of the LGBTQ+ community.”
The Bravo star went on to share that it’s “taken me 42 years to say that but I am so proud of where I am right now. I’m so happy where I am. To be able to be comfortable in my own skin after so long is just so nice,” she continued. “I’m just now starting to feel like I’m becoming the woman I’m supposed to be. I’ve always known it, but it took me, personally, 42 years to be comfortable in my own skin to say that,” she added.
“When I went to the reunion last year I kind of started baby-stepping into, ‘This is who I am. I like women.’ I was testing the waters with my friends, my cast, my family,” she confessed. Braunwyn also opened up about meeting someone she wanted to pursue — a woman she had fallen for. “I met someone that I was interested in pursuing a relationship with,” she said. “It became something that I didn’t want to hide anymore and I didn’t want to keep secret anymore.”
While Braunwyn admitted that she and her family are in “unchartered territories,” they’re all still making it work, and her family has her back. “It’s only as weird as you make it,” she explained. “I don’t know how we are making it all work right now, but we are.”