TV personality Raymond Gutierrez is grateful for the outpouring of support he received after coming out as a member of the LGBT community recently.
On Instagram, Raymond expressed gratitude to his loved ones, who accepted him wholeheartedly.
"I’m thankful to those close to me - my friends and family for giving me the confidence to embrace myself fully without judgement," he wrote.
According to the twin brother of Richard Gutierrez, he considers himself "lucky" because some people don’t have a support system they can run to.
"Which is exactly why I’m sharing my story now," he said.
"Because if there’s one thing I learned this past year and a half is that life is fleeting. I want to encourage those who feel alone that it’s never too late to love yourself, acknowledge those feelings and face your fears - because it feels damn good to be on the other side."
Ruffa Gutierrez's brother noted how sexuality shouldn't "define" who people are.
"It should never hinder your greatness," Raymond pointed out.
"For me personally, being in touch with my masculine and feminine side allowed me to push boundaries creatively and create magic with the projects I do," he added. "So to those saying 'we knew,' you never knew my story and my struggles. And if you’re reading this and you feel like you’re alone, I want to let you know that I went through the same things - you will be loved, your feelings are valid, and those who truly love you will stick around (heart emoji)."
The son of Eddie Gutierrez and Annabelle Rama also reiterated that he was never not out.
"I never denied who I was. I just never shared my story publicly until now," was how he put it.
Raymond shared that growing up, it took a while for him to face his "true identity."
"And figuring it out wasn’t easy," he said.
Raymond noted how he went through a long period of time "hating" himself because society taught him that being "different" wasn’t the right path.
"Especially for someone growing up in the public eye," he said.
"I went through a dark phase of self destruction - creating unhealthy habits to have some sort of escape so I didn’t have to face my reality. I kept things to myself because I was scared to bring shame to my family, and didn’t know how others would treat me."