Chasten Buttigieg's Pastor Brother Doesn't Support 'The Gay Lifestyle'

Like many LGBTQ people, Chasten Buttigieg -- the husband of presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg -- did not have an easy journey in coming out to his family.

In an interview with The Washington Post, the 29-year-old first man of South Bend, Ind., revealed that his mother broke down in tears and asked "if I was sick," and one of his brothers said, "no brother of mine," when he told them he was gay after high school graduation.

After this reaction, Buttigieg left home and was temporarily homeless -- he slept in a car in the parking lot of the community college he was attending and on friends' couches. He lived like this for several months until his mother called and asked him to return. "I cried and I went home immediately," he said.

Happily, Buttigieg's parents came around enough to walk him down the aisle at his marriage to Mayor Pete in 2018. But his relationship with his brothers Rhyan and Dustin is still rocky.

"I want the best for him. I just don't support the gay lifestyle," Rhyan, who is now a Christian pastor in Michigan, told the Post.

The candidacy of Pete Buttigieg, a gay Christian himself, is causing both excitement and outrage in communities of faith. The presidential candidate has slammed the evangelical Vice President Mike Pence for being a "cheerleader of the porn star presidency." However, Christian leaders like Franklin Graham have said Buttigieg needs to repent for his "sin" of being gay.

If he wins the nomination and the presidency, Pete Buttigieg would become the first clearly gay president -- and Chasten would become the first first man. The possibility of this history-making event was the subject of a new Time issue released this week, in which both Pete and Chasten Buttigieg appeared on the cover.