Former MLB Pitcher T.J. House Comes Out As Gay, Announces Engagement to Ryan Neitzel: ‘Love Has Finally Set Me Free’

13.12.2022 - 00:23 / usmagazine.com

Home run romance! Ex-MLB player T.J. House announced his engagement to Ryan Neitzel, publicly disclosing his sexuality for the first time.

The former athlete, 33, came out as gay in a recent Facebook post, sharing images from an engagement photo shoot. “Love. It’s a simple word, one that carries much weight and meaning,” House wrote. “Each of us defines love in a different way, but at the core we all just want to feel the same. To be loved by someone who only wants the best for you, walking the trials of life side by side. Some say we choose who we love as if love doesn’t pop out of the darkest corner of your life, when you least expect it, and throws you into a magical spell that pulls you out of loneliness.”

House continued: “I’ve struggled my entire life with being comfortable in my own skin. I have purposefully distanced myself from people for the sake of trying to protect myself. It’s disheartening how one simple thing can change an individual’s opinion of you in a matter of seconds. It has taken me years to wake up every morning and tell myself that you are loved for you, the one that’s deep down inside that you’ve never truly let out.”

The Louisiana native, who previously played for the Cleveland Guardians and the Toronto Blue Jays, reflected on being “carried” by the praise he received from baseball fans over the years.

“I’ve been loved my whole life for what I did as a career. … Eventually though, it’s a bandage that covers a wound that needs fresh air to heal,” he added. “You have to rip it off at some point if you truly want to get better. Shame has kept me quiet all these years, but Love has finally set me free.”

House recalled being a 23-year-old athlete in Cleveland “living out [his] childhood dream” of playing