He's a Republican, a Mormon, a Utah County Commissioner, married to a woman, and gay. Nathan Ivie came out of the closet this week in a Facebook video.
Ivie said he attempted suicide at the age of 22 and tried to “cure” himself, and he wanted his announcement to help LGBTQ kids who were having similar thoughts: “That really makes you re-evaluate your life, and what you're doing as a leader to prevent that kind of stuff.”
A horse trainer, Ivie said that “I've spent most of my life feeling like the horse that was defective, broken, and destined for the kill pen. In recent years, though, that has changed.”
Ivie said that he has “shared his truth” with his wife and they have agreed to dissolve their marriage, and she is still his best friend.
The AP reports: “Interacting with gay couples through his passion for the outdoors and photography helped Ivie accept himself, he said. He recently had the opportunity to photograph a same-sex couple for their wedding.
Said Ivie to the AP: “The love they shared and the way they looked at each other was the same as any other couple. It helped me realize, ‘Maybe I'm not broken.'”
Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski tweeted to Ivie:
As did his fellow commissioner Tanner Ainge.
