Former Major League Soccer player Matt Pacifici came out as gay on Instagram on Monday with an adorable photo of him holding hands with his boyfriend.
"What do you mean 'I didn’t tell you?'" reads the caption.
During his time in the MLS, the North Carolina native felt the pressure to stay in the closet and focus on soccer, afraid that coming out would potentially hurt his career.
"Playing the part of the straight professional athlete was much more important to me at the time than being true to myself," Pacifici told Outsports.
But after a career-ending injury in 2016 and some time away from soccer, Pacifici felt comfortable sharing his identity with the world. He and his boyfriend, Dirk Blanchat, publicly came out together in Monday's Instagram post.
"When you’re in a relationship that makes you happy, and on social media you see people posting about their girlfriends, it feels weird not being a part of that," Pacifici explained. "You want them to know. This relationship is the one that makes me the most happy ever in my life."
Following in the footsteps of Collin Martin, Robbie Rogers, Matt Hatzke, and David Testo, Pacifici is the fifth current or former MLS player to publically come out as gay, Outsports reports.
"The more people who come out," he said, "the easier it will be for other people to follow."
Welcome to the family Matt and Dirk!
