Well, I hadn't seen this one coming.
Crispin Blunt wishes to make it known that he has separated from his wife Victoria. He decided to come to terms with his homosexuality and explained the position to his family. The consequence is this separation. There is no third party involvement, but this is difficult for his immediate and wider family and he hopes for understanding and support for them. The family do not wish to make any further public comment and hope that their privacy will be respected as they deal with these difficult private issues."
I'd love to think that this will not be a big story in the media, but I suspect my hopes are whistling in the wind. Quite understandably, many people will be thinking of Crispin's family, and the undoubted trauma they are going through. There will be a profound sense of shock.
But I hope people will also be able to understand and empathise with Crispin. Yes, there will be those who condemn him for doing this. They will ask why, if he has managed to suppress his feelings for all these years, why has he felt the need to 'come out' now? The answer is simple. Because he at last decided to be true to himself and face up to the man he is. For anyone to do that at the age of 50 is a very big deal. I did it at 40, and I can tell you that it was the most traumatic thing I have ever done - and I wasn't married with children.
There will be those who ask why, in this day and age, didn't he do it before. They forget that it's really only in the last decade that homosexuality has become almost totally accepted in this country. For those who have had a rural upbringing, or in Crispin's case come from an army family, it is just not the same as for those who have lived all their lives in metropolitan centres.
As the years pass, it becomes easier for everyone, but for those who are no longer teenagers, or even in their twenties, the longer time goes on, the more difficult it gets. You know you're living a lie, you know in your heart (but not always your head) who and what you are. You aren't ashamed of it, but none of your friends know. You feel you have lived a lie, and the longer that lie goes on, the more difficult it gets to do anything about it. You think if you suddenly announce it, you'll lose some really good friends. You don't, of course. Real friends stand by you and help you through it. If Crispin Blunt doesn't know this already, he will find out very soon.
Today will be the most difficult day of his life. For his wife, it will be the second worst day of her life. The worst will have been the day Crispin told her. I hope that the media will treat this story with a huge shrug and move on. But I wouldn't bet my mortgage on it.
