Meredith Baxter’s coming out

Meredith Baxter has gone public, says Blaine Zuckerman in People. “I’m a lesbian mom,” says the 62-year-old star of Family Ties. It’s a realization that was a long time coming. For much of her life, Baxter says, “It never once occurred to me that I was gay.” Indeed, she was married three times, once for 15 years to David Birney. But all three unions ended in divorce. “I had a great deal of difficulty connecting with men in relationships. I had been so profoundly unhappy, and I never knew that was why.” Then, seven years ago, she had her first lesbian experience. It was a revelation that she likens to the time she first wore glasses as a girl after years of blurred vision. “I almost started to cry. I just didn’t know that that was the way things looked. It was like, Oh, I understand why I had the issues I had early in life.” Four years ago, Baxter met her current girlfriend, contractor Nancy Locke, and slowly began coming out to her five grown children and friends. But when asked if her process of self-discovery and coming out has been difficult, she rocks her body back and forth for a moment and answers in a voice that is barely a whisper, “You have no idea.’’

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up