Lexie Nobrega couldn’t believe what her grandma did for her. | Photos: supplied
Lexie Nobrega came out to her friends as bisexual at the age of 13, but telling her grandma and grandpa proved a little more difficult.
Her grandparents hail from the small South American nation of Guyana and now live in Washington D.C. in the States.
Lexie describes Guyana and the surrounding Caribbean nations as ‘very homophobic’ so she was nervous about coming out to them.
Hermina and Lexie Nobrega. | Photo: supplied
She told Gay Star News: ‘Even though my grandparents had always been loving and kind to others, I was still scared about coming out because I didn’t want them to view me differently or not accept me.’
When she did finally tell them during her senior year in high school, her grandma gave her a big hug and responded: ‘Okay, that’s fine, we love you.’
‘It was such a simple gesture, but it spoke volumes’
Lexie’s now a senior at the Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia but traveled back to Washington D.C. for Pride this weekend.
But when Lexie was getting ready, something unexpected happened and it caught her completely off guard.
Lexie explains: ‘She came into my bedroom and, like many doting grandmothers do, wanted to help me get ready before I left the house.
‘So she picked up my bisexual pride flag and ironed out all the wrinkles! It was such a simple gesture, but it spoke volumes about her unconditional love and support,’ she said.
Lexie says she loves her grandparents unconditionally and it’s very much the same for them.
She continued: ‘That’s how she has always been, and I would not be the person I am today without her.’
‘Oh this needs to be pressed out!’
So she posted the story on Twitter and it absolutely blew up.
She wrote on Twitter: ‘Such a simple gesture, but it holds so much love and meaning for me.’
I got up this morning to get ready for #DCPride. My grandma walked into my room, looked at my bi flag, and said, “Oh, this needs to be pressed out!” Such a simple gesture, but it holds so much love and meaning for me. pic.twitter.com/stiD3vg5vs
— Lexie 💖💜💙 (@lexie_galaxie) June 9, 2018
The post has more than 11,000 retweets and 80,000 likes at the time of writing this article.
The post prompted LGBTI people to share their stories about their own grandparents.
One Twitter user replied: ‘I came out in a comment post as bi. I didn’t know it would show up on my Facebook, but my Nana texted immediately saying she loved me for who I was no matter my orientation. She’s the only family of mine to accept it and not dismiss it. Gma’s are wonderful.’
Another commented: ‘This is really beautiful. It was both funny and moving. It reminded me of my grandmother.’
