“I feel very blessed, I have a progressive and liberal family since my parents grew up with relatives who are a part of the LGBTIQ+ community,” Cyrus prefaced.

However, he admitted that while he had a progressive family, he still struggled to accept himself in his entirety.

“Despite my open family, I was still suppressing my identity. However, I remember one day, I was at the Manoel Theatre watching a concert with my partner in one of the balconies. And my dad was downstairs on one of the chairs – not knowing that I was right there.”

“The singer’s name was Sasha, she used to work with my father and during her performance, she dedicated her song to her wife.”

“When she said this, I saw my father induce a standing ovation. He stood up, started clapping and the whole theatre rose to its feet, praising and celebrating the statement Sasha made.”

Cyrus went on to explain how much seeing his father be so supportive in front of a whole theatre of people meant to him.

“Although I already knew that my family was open, seeing my father do what he did gave me the courage I needed. To this day, my father still doesn’t know about this.”

He then explained that he had a similar experience with his mother. She was extremely progressive since she was brought up with her favourite cousin Charles, who is also gay.

“They spent a lot of time together, they were both from Valletta, they used to dance together at carnival – she just used to spend a lot of time with him. So, for her and for my family, there was nothing wrong with being different. For them being gay just means being another person with different feelings to the ‘norm’.”

“My mum had asked me to go for coffee with her one day and when we were there she asked me if there was anything that I wanted to tell her.”

“For a long time I was suppressing it myself but she laid out the carpet for me to express that I had a partner, even though she already knew without me needing to tell her.”

Conversely, Cyrus went on to admit that coming out to society is where he struggled most. 

“In society I experienced something totally different. In fact, the first time I was discriminated against was when I was about to sign up for a job which I was then turned down for because I was out in public about my sexual orientation.”

“That is the moment I realised that this is a fight that I have to take on. Since I was being discriminated against, I knew that other people were too and I wanted to make sure that I’d do what I can to fight for equality”

“That is how it all started. It is how I got involved in the Malta Gay Rights Movement and in the LGBTIQ+ community in Malta to fight for equality. And here we are today, with Malta being the number one country on the Europe rainbow list.”

“It makes me really proud.”

Do you know someone who struggled to come out of the closet? Share your experience in the comments section below