Venezuelan host Raúl González spoke openly about the reason that forced him to hide his sexual orientation from the public. Ahead of the release of his book *The Truth Dies Standing*, the *Despierta América* host stated that he hid the fact that he is gay for 30 years due to a promise he made to his father.
“When my father found out, he asked me: ‘Don’t let this be known until I die,’” he said in an interview with Mandy Fridmann.
In his autobiography, Raúl González reveals for the first time that he is gay and details the consequences he faced by having to sacrifice his happiness for so long.
“The door has now opened, comments will come, people will appear because I’m aware of what this means; however, when you start to see everything in perspective, you say: ‘I haven’t killed anyone, I haven’t done things that are called mortal sins.
‘Far from it, I’ve simply been a human being who hid, who took refuge in food, in alcohol, in relationships that at some point became toxic just to pretend.’ I’m gay,’’ the host said through tears.
The host explained why he agreed to his father’s request despite the emotional consequences it entailed. “I also tell in the book that when my dad found out, he made me promise that this wouldn’t be known until he died. So, obviously, out of the love, respect, and admiration I had and have for him, I promised because I understood his shame,” he stated.
Despite this, in his book González emphasizes forgiveness, which he described as “a process of love.” He also noted that he has been in therapy since he was 17 to understand how to cope with this situation.
Regarding the promise he made to his father, Raúl González confessed, “I sacrificed my happiness. But he passed away in peace,” he acknowledged with tears in his eyes.
In the conversation, he lamented that Latin American culture rejects people with a sexual orientation different from heterosexuality. “We come from a society and a culture, especially in Latin America, where it was said a thousand times: ‘I’d rather have a prostitute for a daughter than a gay son.’ How does that person grow up? Folks, this isn’t something you choose because I assure you I wouldn’t have chosen it given how painful it is,” he said.
Image: DiarioNY
