All right.
Our goal with this show is to make people happy
and feel good every day.
So when I got this letter from a viewer in Big Lake, Minnesota,
I knew I wanted to meet him.
"Dear Ellen, My name is Bryden [? Giving. ?]
I want to tell you about my incredible mom, Michelle.
We went through a tough time when I came out
to her as gay in high school.
We live in a small town and she didn't
know if people would accept my lifestyle.
Luckily, my mom adores you and your show,
and because of you, she was able to accept me for who I am,
and we are now closer than ever.
My mother would freak out if she could meet you.
She's done so much for me.
I would love to help make her dream come true."
Well come on down, you two.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[INAUDIBLE]
Thank you.
All right.
I'm going to put a mic on you so I can hear you, OK?
You do whatever you want.
All right.
So, hi.
Hi.
Do you need a tissue or something?
Yes, thank you.
Well, so, this is an amazing story,
because all you want is acceptance
from your-- especially your family.
And that was a hard thing for you
to accept when he first told you.
And why do you think that was?
I think it wasn't that, you know, it was him being gay.
I was more worried about what society, and the hoops
that he was going to have to go through with being gay.
I didn't know if that would give him a hard time getting a job.
But regardless, with this man's personality,
he's going to go a long way.
Yeah, well, that's important.
I mean, I think that is the parents fear.
Sometimes it is it's not who they wanted their children
to turn out to be, and it's your disappointment with yourself.
But for you it was your fear for him.
It was.
But if more people did this, then you
wouldn't have to worry about him in the world,
because the world would accept all of us,
because we are everywhere.
I'm not worried about this man at all.
It's just that a lot of people don't come out.
But that's really cool.
So, did you struggle with-- how long did you struggle
before you decided to come out?
I think I knew about my struggle with it probably for good four
to five years.
And the primary reason why I don't
want to just jump out and be like, yo, friends, what's up?
I'm gay as heck.
But we were from a small town.
It wasn't normal.
I didn't have any openly gay friends.
I had wonderful, warm supportive friends,
but I didn't know of anybody else that's done it before.
So it was just a very solid solitary thing to do.
And so it was just too scary at that point and time.
Right, especially if you're gay as heck.
Yes.
It's one thing to be gay, but when you're gay as heck,
it's risky.
So, Michelle, I know that you were most
nervous about telling your dad.
Yes.
Why is that?
My dad and I, we never had a real strong relationship.
And him and I have never discussed sexuality or anything
like that.
And so I just told Bryden to give me some time for me
to tell him.
And I tell you, when I did, it was so unexpected.
We were sitting at the kitchen table,
and I just said, Dad, I've got to tell you something.
I said, Bryden is gay.
And he just got up from the table and came over
and gave me a hug.
And he's not a hugging type of person.
And he just said, Michelle, I don't care if Bryden's gay,
because I love Bryden.
And I love Ellen.
I watch Ellen every day, and she's gay, so I don't care.
So it was just--
[APPLAUSE]
Wow.
That's great.
Hi, Dad.
What's his name?
Don.
Hi, Don.
How are you?
What a great man you are, Don.
That's really cool.
Did you understand her worry for you?
No.
That's, I think, one of my largest regrets,
too, is because when I came out my senior year,
it was very much military acceptance,
like, everyday should love me, pride flag to the max,
waving it around.
If my family is as supportive and loving as they
say they are, they should completely
accept me right off the bat.
And so her initial reactions were definitely-- it was hard.
It was very, very hard.
Well that's amazing that both of you have come together
and you're this close.
That's really-- it's a beautiful story.
And you raised him.
You were a single mom, and made a lot of sacrifices.
We learned that you haven't had a real vacation,
so Shutterfly wants to change that.
Shutterfly wants to give you $10,000 so you can
take the vacation of your life.
[APPLAUSE]
All right.
We'll be back.