Coun. Russ Wyatt comes out as bisexual

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This article was published 03/06/2018 (2396 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City councillor Russ Wyatt came out Sunday as bisexual, ending months of silence and a stint in rehab with an announcement on Winnipeg Pride parade day.

“I came OUT today as a Bisexual man. This is my first Pride,”the Transcona councillor said in an emailed statement to the Free Press.

Wyatt was on leave from city council from January to May and spent months undergoing addictions therapy at the Gimli-area Aurora Recovery Centre.

He returned to city hall last Monday but the statement was the first time he disclosed the personal issues related to his addictions counselling.

“I came out in Rehab with the help of some amazing people. And I came out to my immediate family before today,” Wyatt’s email said.

“I’ve been living in fear and in a secret double life and it’s been very very hard and it’s now over. I am grateful to be alive today.”

Wyatt attended the Pride parade rally at the legislature, standing in solidarity with parade organizers and politicians, including Mayor Brian Bowman who has previously praised Wyatt for going public with his decision to seek addictions counselling.

Wyatt appeared relaxed and at ease Sunday and wore a Winnipeg Pride T-shirt over a hoodie at the rally.

He was first elected to city council in 2002.