’90 Day Fiance’ Star Armando Shares Heartbreaking Details About His Journey to Self-Acceptance
Armando Rubio and Kenneth Niedermeier are the first male gay couple on 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, and they are quickly becoming the most beloved stars of the franchise. But as seen on the show, coming out wasn’t easy for Armando. And he recently shared heartbreaking details about his journey to self-acceptance.
Armando opens up about his past on ’90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way’
On one the early episodes of Season 2 of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, Armando opens up about his past. He reveals that he got married very young, and became a father to his daughter Hannah, who is now 6-years-old. He said that despite knowing he was gay in his heart, he felt like he had to be with a woman to fit in.
“Even though at a very young age I knew I was gay, given the macho culture I was from and living in Mexico, I wanted to have a relationship with a woman, and I thought this was the only way that possibly these feelings would go away and I could be a man,” Armando says on the show. “After we had been married for about eight years I decided to tell Hannah’s mother that I was gay. When I first told her she was kind of lost and she definitely cried about it.”
Armando says that Hannah’s mother eventually outed him to his parents. But because they were in complete denial, they essentially pushed him back into the closet.
His ex died in a tragic car accident some years ago. So since then, Armando has been raising Hannah with the support of his family.
Armando comes out to his parents again on ’90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way’
After meeting Kenneth online through a support group for gay fathers, and being in a long-distance relationship with him for three years, Armando plans on leaving his family property to move in with Kenneth in Mexico. Knowing he’ll be leaving his family soon, he comes out to his sister and parents once again on 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way.
“As you know, we’ve talked about it once before, I’ve spent my whole life hiding who I am,” he tells his parents. “I know that maybe having been married may have confused you. But I did it for you, so that people wouldn’t talk about you. There were nights where I cried alone because of hiding who I was.”
In tears, Armando’s mother hugs him and tells him she would always love him. “It’s a beautiful feeling to hear that she loves me, that I’m her boy,” Armando says in a confessional. “That’s what I needed in my life.”
Armando shares details of his heartbreaking journey on Instagram
On 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, viewers saw how hard it was for Armando to finally be himself. So in a recent Q & A on his Instagram page, one fan asked Armando how he suppressed his truth for so long.
“At a young age, I knew I was different, but for years I was in denial, I thought I was confused, thought it would all go away and that it would pass,” Armando responded. “I was taught it was wrong and that it was a choice. I was led to believe these feelings would go away. All of that combined contributed to not accepting who and what I was because everything around me told me it was wrong and I thought I was doing the right thing by suppressing those feelings.”
When another fan asked if Armando had advice for people who are afraid to come out to their conservative families, he addressed how real the fear is. But he said that for him, finally speaking the truth lifted his burden.
“Only you will know when the time is right, but speaking for myself, the fear of whether you’ll be accepted or not is sadly terrifying,” Armando wrote. “But the relief of getting that weight off your shoulders in beyond words. I’ve learned that those you love you unconditionally and are ‘worth’ your heart will be there for you in the end.”
