Straight woman ~ Gay man

I have been working with supporting gay men to be comfortable with themselves for twenty years. Many of the men I worked with had entered a marriage either before they knew they were gay or well aware of their sexuality. The decision to marry a woman can be varied, some due to community and or family pressure, to hide, to have children or the man did not know or understand his sexuality.

Resources for the straight spouse of a gay man are not widely available. It can be devastating news to a straight spouse that her partner, the person she has loved for years, built her future on, is gay. Both people in this relationship can have a lot to deal with. If there are children, then more questions come up.

I found this resource on the internet this morning. The Straight Spouse Network(SSN). SSN has links to local resources and materials that can assist people in this situation. I have not met anyone from this organization nor had experience with them. After looking at some of the material they look to be a good place to start.

If any of you know about SSN, let me know more about them. If you know of other resources please feel free to point me too them here.

The stated mission for the Straight Spouse Network is ...

Reaching out - To extend the accessibility of support for straight spouses and partners, current or former, or gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered mates world wide. Healing - To expand support resources for spouses and partners that lessen their trauma, help them to cope with painful issues constructively, and nurture their strength to rebuild broken lives. Building bridges - To foster mutual understanding between spouses and family members and joint efforts with community and professional organizations toward improving services for spouses.