“I Was Told I Would Lose My Career”: Brooke Eden On Coming Out In The Country World

Queer country artist Brooke Eden was told she would lose her career if she came out, according to a candid interview where she opened up to Us Weekly about what Pride month means to her.

“There has been such little representation for such a long time, especially in country music,” she said, “and there hasn’t been able to be any visibility because, you know, when people started to come out, they were told that, ‘You would lose your career.’”

Eden went on to say that she was also told that her career would go downhill if she came out, resulting in Eden hiding her relationship with her wife for five years: “For me, Pride month is so important to just explain to straight people why it’s important to have pride in who you are, because when you’re born straight, you already have pride intrinsically, and you’re told that God loves you. And then, all of a sudden, you realise, ‘Oh, I might not be straight.’ And then all of a sudden, you’re going to hell and all these things, and there’s a whole journey you have to go through to love yourself and accept yourself.”

Eden grew up in a conservative Christian household, and used to not understand why Pride month is essential: “I remember being like, ‘Well, there’s not a straight month.’ I was that person until I was like 14 and met my first gay friend, and was like, ‘Oh, you have had to go through so much to have pride in who you are.’ And I understand it so much more now.”

She also spoke on how she thinks country music and Pride intersects: “For me, country music is about the truth. And for so long, we haven’t been able to tell our truth, and there’s so many people that haven’t felt represented here. So, to be able to tell our truth in country music and to just have that inclusivity that is country music, that’s what it’s all about for me.”

At the GLAAD Media Awards last year, Eden said, “Being a queer human and a country artist, for so long I never thought my lives would be able to collide, so, to be here as exactly who I am means so much. It means that we’re moving forward and that we’re moving forward as a community, as a genre and as a humanity of people.”

Eden and her wife Hilary Hoover recently announced that they are expecting a baby this November.