RAYMOND Gutierrez officially came out as a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
“I’m here to formally say that I am a proud member of the LGBTQ community. And it feels great saying that publicly because I am,” he said in an exclusive interview with MEGA Entertainment.
According to him, the pandemic helped him realize how important it is to live one’s life to the fullest, and he’ll continue doing that by being true to himself.
“I’ve never felt more happy and content with my life, and I feel like I wanna share that with people, and what the pandemic really taught me is to live your life because life is short,” he added.
At first, it was hard for him to accept the fact while growing up, but he is thankful for friends and family who supported him.
“Like, what is this? I had my brother, who was so similar to me but so different in so many ways. But he never had to explain his sexuality, so why should I?” he shared.
Entering show business as a TV host at 19 years old, that’s when Raymond realized that being a part of the LGBTQ community is not that accepted yet.
He revealed that he was bullied and labeled back then for being the “baklang kapatid ni Richard,” which led to depression.
“I can literally hear them,” he said. “That kind of became why I got depressed and why I gained so much weight. I became self-destructive.”
With these reasons and being part of a family that is in the public eye, Raymond did not tell anybody, which was the “hard part.”
As time went by and he matured, though, he realized that being one’s true self is the best gift that one could bring to his family: “So drop the cloak, drop the act. Just be yourself.”
He said that part of his decision to come out is the hope to inspire other people who are going through a hard time with their sexuality.(GMA News)
