This mom could run a master class on how to react when your kid comes out as gay.
'I love you no matter what in the world. Don’t you know that?'
Sitting at his family's dining room table, terrified and jittery, Matthew Christian was about to tell his mom a big secret.
He was about to come out as gay.
GIF via Matthew Christian/YouTube; USA Today.
In a tear-jerking video Matthew posted online about six years ago — though the video has just recently gone viral — you can almost feel the pain and dread on the then 19-year-old's face through the screen.
Fortunately for Matthew, his mom, Robin, did a terrific job handling the news.
First off, Robin made it clear before her son even uttered a word that she has his back, no matter what.
"There’s nothing you could tell me that I would never stop loving you for, hon," she told him. "You know that."
GIF via Matthew Christian/YouTube; USA Today.
When he finally told her, she immediately reassured Matthew that he had nothing to apologize for.
"I'm sorry," Matthew sobbed into his mom's shoulder.
“Don’t be sorry, silly!" Robin replied, hugging her son tightly.
GIF via Matthew Christian/YouTube; USA Today.
"Don’t be sorry, don’t be sorry," she reiterated. "I love you no matter what in the world. Don’t you know that?"
When Matthew told her he hadn't told his friends yet, she had the perfect piece of advice.
"Do your friends know?" she asked him.
He tearfully shook his head.
"If they’re your real friends, they won’t care," she said. "OK?"
GIF via Matthew Christian/YouTube; USA Today.
Even though the video is six years old, the timeless display of love between a vulnerable child and an adoring mom is still as relevant as ever.
"I have received messages from people all over the world telling me their stories and what my video has meant to them," Matthew, now a 25-year-old college graduate with plans to go to medical school, told Pink News. "So while the response has been a lot to take in, knowing that the video has reached so many people and achieved what I was hoping it would has made it all worth it."
GIF via Matthew Christian/YouTube; USA Today.
There are plenty of resources online for parents of LBGTQ kids who want to make sure they respond to their child's coming out in a positive and supportive way.
A good thing to keep in mind, Robin told USA Today, is that your child is "still your child." She noted, "It doesn't change who they are."