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TJ Osborne joked that his brother John knew he was gay, when he saw his internet search history.
The Brothers Osborne musicians have opened up about when TJ shared his sexuality with his brother and how John tried to break the tension with a joked.
Speaking on SiriusXM's ‘Exit 209 with Storme Warren' podcast, John, 40, said: “As his older brother you just kind of know, but it's not my place to ask.”
TJ, 37, quipped: “When you saw my internet history you kind of knew,” and John laughed: “Yeah. I was like, wow. Interesting.”
TJ revealed he wanted to tell John about his sexuality before they tied themselves into a contract with EMI Records Nashville in 2012.
He said: “I was like, ‘Hey, before we sign this and we get kind of tangled up, contractually entangled in something, you need to know that this is a thing that I need to tell you about me that I think you might now, but I also want you to know that I do intend on coming out at some point. I don't know when that is, but I don't want to live my life closeted.'
“I knew that I wanted to tell John then and at that point I had come out to a couple people that I thought really needed to know, but beyond that, I just kind of just did my thing and so John was always obviously incredibly supportive of that.”
John said: “It's not my place to pry or ask, but I knew eventually he would have to tell me for him, you know, because the people that I'm closest to in my life are my brother and my wife [Lucie] and my family and you have to be honest and open with those people, which allows you to be vulnerable, which is where real life happens, right?”
And John then joked to his brother that he would “balance” him out.
He said: “To break awkward tension, I just remember saying, ‘Well, you don't have to worry TJ because the other member in your band is a raging heterosexual, so I'm here to balance you out'. I just wanted to say something to make someone laugh and it was after that then we just had drinks and I felt so much happiness and joy for him and it was a beautiful, beautiful night.”
TJ – who is dating Abi Ventura – came out publicly in Time magazine in February 2021, becoming the first only openly gay artist signed to a major country label.
