Matthew Paul Turner, author of the Christian children's books When God Made the World, When God Made You and When I Pray for You and several other books, came out as gay on Friday in a post to social media. Turner also announced that he and his wife Jessica are divorcing. They have three kids together.
“I have difficult news to share,” Turner began. “After much thought, prayer, and counseling, Jessica and I have made the decision to end our marriage. While we're best friends and thoroughly love doing life, parenting, and pursuing our dreams together, ending our marriage is necessary because I am gay.”
“Being gay isn't a new discovery for me,” he continued. “However, as someone who spent 30+ years in fundamentalist/evangelical churches, exploring God through conservative theologies, I lived many days overwhelmed by fear, shame, and self-hatred. Though my own faith evolved long ago to become LGBTQ+ affirming, my journey toward recognizing, accepting and embracing myself took much longer. But for the first time in my life, despite the sadness and grief I'm feeling right now, I can say with confidence that I'm ready to embrace freedom, hope, and God as a gay man.”
Turner thanked his wife for her support and said they were putting their kids first: “I would not be able to say that without Jessica's undying grace and support. I fell in love with her 17 years ago and still love her deeply. Despite her own grief and pain, she has loved and encouraged me to be fully me. Many of the steps I've taken recently wouldn't have happened without Jessica walking beside me, helping me through every fear. Jessica is and will always be my hero. She's brave, strong and showcases love like nobody I know. Our utmost desire is to move forward in love and compassion for each other and put the well-being of our kids first. Coming out to my kids was one of the hardest, most beautiful things I've ever done. Loving and protecting their stories will always be our first priority.”
Turner added that he would continue to write children's books and had the support of his publisher. He added: That said, we ask that you be kind and respectful toward us. Anyone who posts comments laced in shame, criticism of our family, our theology, or our choices will be blocked. Throughout these hard months, Jessica and I have looked at each other many times and said, “we're going to be okay.” And on most days, we fully believe that. Please keep us in your thoughts/prayers as we engage this new path.”
Turner's wife Jessica also released a statement:
Wrote Jessica Turner: “My husband, my best friend has bravely shared his deepest truth this past year. He is gay. While this doesn't change how much we love him, it does change our relationship. We are moving forward with ending our marriage, while remaining deeply committed to our family and each other. We have worked for more than a year on trying to make our marriage work, even in light of Matthew's truth, but it wasn't healthy or fair to us or our children. We feel confident that this is the next right step for each of us and our family.”
“Our three incredible children have taken the news remarkably well,” she added. “We are all adjusting to a new normal, with our home now extended under two rooftops. I am so grateful for the way we love each other and the deep belief that God is with us. We are both grieving the loss of what we had and taking hope in what is to come. It is really important to me that you know that nothing you have seen on my social media or blog has been a lie. I have always loved Matthew, and he me. I will always champion him and his writing. You will continue to see him on my social media. With that, we ask that you remain respectful toward each of us. Friends will be monitoring my social media in the days to come and will delete/block commenters bringing shame/criticism to of our family, our theology or Matthew specifically. Matthew is my best friend and the father of my children. I will not allow for the trauma to be inflicted on any of us. Moreover, be mindful that our children will someday read this post.”
