Meredith Baxter Birney: "I'm a lesbian"
At age 62, after three marriages and five children, Meredith Baxter is making public the fact that she is a lesbian. The beloved television mom Elise Keaton from “Family Ties” and the former wife of her “Bridget Loves Bernie” co-star David Birney appeared on the Today show this morning, speaking with Matt Lauer about her late-in-life discovery. People magazine is also reporting the story this week.
While she has been dating women for seven years and has been with her partner, building contractor Nancy Locke, for four years, only now is Baxter discussing her sexual orientation publicly.
“Some people would say, well, you’re living a lie and, you know, the truth is — not at all,” she told Lauer. “This has only been for the past seven years.”
And the admission might not have come now except for a National Enquirer story reporting that Baxter and Locke took a Caribbean cruise sponsored by a lesbian travel company last month. They knew the possibility existed that they would be outed, but they took the trip anyway.
“I don’t want to be worried all the time,” she said. “I knew I was pushing it.”
From the Today story:
“Baxter says that her relationship with men was complicated, and it took her decades to understand why.
“In 1966 she married her first husband, Robert Lewis Bush, and they divorced five years later; she married her second husband, David Birney, in 1974, and they divorced in 1989; she married her third husband, Michael Blodgett, in 1995, and they divorced in 2000.
“She explained that she deliberately chose to be with men with whom she clashed, so that she could blame them for the end of the relationship. “It never occurred to me to think, oh, [the problem is] me,” she said.
“Then, seven years ago, she had a relationship with a woman and concluded that she was homosexual. Suddenly, things seemed to make sense.
“I got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with, and it was that kind of awakening,” she said. “I never fought it because it was like, oh, I understand why I had the issues I had early in life. I had a great deal of difficulty connecting with men in relationships.”
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Add a Comment50 Comments
I'm a 40 something guy who has always thought Meredeth was very sexy and attractive. Now after reading this... even more so. I just have to rearrange my fantasies a little. JohnLa
December 2, 2009 - 9:40amThis Comment
You creep! She's not bisexual, she's a lesbian. It really frustrates me that men seem to think that every woman exists for their fantasies - even women who do not like men. She is in a serious committed relationship, not a three-way waiting to happen.
December 14, 2009 - 7:24pmWait, what? All women are not for male fantiasies? I don't think those words can be arranged in that order.
January 12, 2010 - 1:08pmIt annoys me when men approach a lesbian as if they're bisexual. Or a straight woman as if they're bisexual. Fantasies are a different matter. I don't think people should be limited on what they can think about. I'm a straight woman and I fantasize about gay men. That doesn't mean I approach gay men and try to make them bisexual. It just means the idea of gay men turns me on, so I like to think about it. I don't think he expects to suddenly be invited to have sex with her and/or her partner, it means he likes to think about it. Completely different.
June 29, 2010 - 5:30pmYES!!!!!!!!
December 2, 2009 - 9:41amLet me qualify my original post of "YES!!!!!!!!". I'm glad that Meredith had the courage to come out on national television; I'm kinda disgusted by JohnLa's post of altering his fantasies about her. Makes me think, "That's the kind of man who makes me PROUD TO BE A LESBIAN!"
December 2, 2009 - 9:45amI'm glad you are proud to be a lesbian! You should never be ashamed of being yourself. I'm sorry you were disgusted by my comment. You're the kind of person that makes me proud I have a sense of humor!
December 2, 2009 - 11:50amI'm glad that you have a sense of humor... you make me laugh.
December 2, 2009 - 11:56amSo you look at other people, male or female, then compare them to your values and then exclaim in capitols you are proud you are not them or like them. Hmmm if you had power and weapons I'd be scared.
December 10, 2009 - 6:16amWe're proud you're a lesbian too, and can be included in our fantasies!
January 25, 2010 - 8:53am