“I only felt safe after they already knew me for my work”

Eduardo Leite He was very candid about his private life. The governor of Rio Grande do Sul spoke about the process of accepting and understanding his sexual orientation. The politician said that, by understanding himself as a gay man, he chose not to create a false image of a straight man.

“People speculated and commented. When I finally understood that I was gay, I didn’t want to expose it to the world, but I made a decision: I wouldn’t assume a character, trying to convince others that I was heterosexual, appearing with women or pretending to be married”, spoke in an interview with Veja.

The governor spoke about the moment he realized he was attracted to men: “As a teenager, I caught myself thinking about this, but I didn’t go deep into the feeling. Maybe because of the whole context: I was raised in a more conservative environment, I studied at a Catholic school, and you create a barrier without realizing it. I had good relationships with women, real ones, and I even spent four years with a college friend, with whom I really fell in love. It was only when I was 25 that the interest in men became clear to me and I allowed myself to live it. At that point, I was already a councilor.”.

“You wonder how people will react. I had a boyfriend in São Paulo, I was always traveling and, one day, my mother wanted to know why. I decided to reveal there that I was involved with a man. ‘Why did you choose public life?’ ‘, she asked me. Like every mother, she was afraid that I would suffer.”he said.

Regarding the process of publicly coming out as a gay man, Eduardo said that he preferred people to trust his work first.

“When I was mayor, I had a boyfriend, who I stayed with. I only felt safe after they had known me through my work for seven years, and I left the city to meet him. Prejudice weighs heavily, but it didn’t stop me from being re-elected governor of Rio Grande do Sul, a state considered conservative.”, he spoke.

“At the age of 27, when I decided to run for mayor, an advisor from my office warned me that my opponents said they had a photo of me with a man. I replied that, even if it were true, I wouldn’t give in to blackmail. That photo never appeared, but, during the debates, I received anonymous messages, threatening: ‘I’m going to publish it.’ It’s curious that attacks come from where you least expect them and are based on unbelievable arguments. […] I’ve even heard that I wasn’t really gay and that I presented myself that way just to gain prominence in the press.”, he said.