Chely Wright

Chely Wright and Lauren Blitzer are officially wife and wife. The couple got married yesterday at Blitzer's aunt's home in Connecticut.

It May 2010, Wright came out as gay, an admission that resulted in death threats and thoughts of suicide. Just two weeks later, though, the country singer met Blitzer, a GLBT Civil Rights activist, and eventually fell in love.

Both brides wore a white gown for the wedding because, as Wright joked to People, "we like our hair too much!" We wish this pair a long, happy marriage.

She received death threats when she first came out, but now it's all worth it for country singer Chely Wright. That's because she's found the love of her life.

"Out country singer Chely Wright and her fiancée, Lauren Blitzer, a GLBT Civil Rights activist have set a date and plan to be married in Connecticut Aug. 20," reads a statement. "They met through their youth advocacy work, and say that their passion for Scrabble holds them together."

Sounds like a triple word score - of happiness! - to us.

Says Wright to People: "The freedom of being out and open about who I am allowed me to find and fall in love with Lauren, the most amazing woman I've ever known."

We wish this couple nothing but the best.

Chely Wright came out as a gay country artist in May 2010.

But while some critics may believe that announcement was publicity-driven, Wright says the result has been anything but positive for her career.

"I haven't talked about the negative," Wright said this week. "You won't hear me bitching and moaning on my Facebook about the hate mail I've gotten. My life has been threatened. I get nasty letters every day, 'I'm through with you Chely Wright, you're going to hell.'"

Has Wright received support from fellow singers? Only from Mary Chapin Carpenter, at least in public.

"They wouldn't want their fans to know they were LGBT friendly," the singer says of private messages other stars have offered. "There are also artist friends who I never heard from again. There are a lot of other people in the industry that I had a friendly email relationship with, or would occasionally text with, that I have not heard a word from."

Now that she's out of the closet, Chely Wright isn't holding anything back.

The country music artist is aware that many critics will see her homosexuality admission as a PR move in light of her new book and new album, but simply tells Entertainment Weekly:

"I can’t stop people from throwing that dagger my way. And quite frankly I’m not going to spend a lot of time trying to defend myself against that."

That's far from the only thing Wright told the magazine. Sit back and read her thoughts on everything from ex-boyfriends to George W. Bush...

On her country fans: “I want [them]  to stay with me. I’m not giving the finger to country fans. By all measure, they already like me. They voted me ‘most philanthropic,’ ‘country star with the biggest heart,’ People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful, Kansan of the Year. I’m still all those things. I just happen to be a lesbian. I have been the whole time. I wasn’t confused."

On her view of herself: "I’m proud of who I am. I’m not necessarily proud of being gay. I’m proud that I’m about to live my life honestly. I won’t be a whisper. I’m too proud of who I am. I’ve been too good a steward of my life."

On religion: I don’t have a religious inclination. I can’t even identify myself necessarily as Christian. When I’m in Kuwait City and I hear the chants in the morning, I feel something. Anyone who gets on their knees and looks up, that moves me. And quite frankly I don’t begrudge anyone who doesn’t get on their knees and look up. I don’t have a problem with that. I like the Golden Rule."

On Don't Ask, Don't Tell: "I’m so angry about it. I’m so angry with George Bush and Dick Cheney, and if President Obama doesn’t do something - I know he’s trying and it takes time, I know he can’t flip a switch - but if he doesn’t get this done quickly, I’ll be angry with him. I know the military.

"I’ve been playing in military hospitals since I was a kid. I know these people. I know what they’re about. They’re about valor, integrity, teamwork, honor. We have instructed them to lie, to say they are something they are not, which is the antithesis of what the military is supposed to be. I’m so angry about it."

On ex-boyfriend Brad Paisley: "Brad is a really good person. I feel like Brad respects me. I don’t know if he ever hated me at some point. If he did, I wouldn’t blame him. Although I imagine his Christian beliefs would lead him to condemn my homosexuality, he might fall into the “love the sinner, hate the sin” category. He’s wickedly smart, which is one of the reasons why I made the decision to spend time with him.

"I loved Brad. I never had the capacity to fall in love with him, but I figured if I’m gonna live a less than satisfied life, this is the guy I could live my life with. If I’m gonna be with a boy, this is the boy. He’s funny as crap, he’s talented. He’s a good person. He is as fair as he knows to be. And I respect his beliefs. He walks his walk. And he’s not a hypocrite. If his religious beliefs tell him to condemn my homosexuality, I can’t let that rent a room in my head.

What is your reaction to Wright coming out?

Earlier this week, Chely Wright came out as gay.

But that's not the most dramatic news this country music singer has to share with the world. In an interview with Access Hollywood, Wright divulged that she was very close to suicide.

The low point of her struggle with homosexuality, Chely said, took place during a discussion with fellow artist John Rich. She relayed it to the entertainment news show as follows:

“He said, "You're not gay are you?!" I said, "No, John, I'm not." He said, "Good, thank God." And that began a spiral for me. I had a meltdown shortly after that.”

This self-described meltdown culminated with a loaded gun in Wright's hand.

“I was looking at myself in a mirror... as I was about to do it. I just looked at myself and something snapped and I started to cry... and I realized I have too much to live for. I may lose my career in country music, that will break my heart, but it's okay. I have a lot of different pieces of my heart that matter and that's what I've come to learn.”

As we've said before, Wright's admissions would seem less opportunistic if they came during a week that did not involve the releae of an autobiography and a new album.

But why be cynical? Here's to hoping this singer has found inner peace and is moving in a positive direction with her life.

It's official: Chely Wright is gay.

The country music singer tells this week's issue of People: "Nothing in my life has been more magical than the moment I decided to come out."

That moment has arrived, but Wright says it took awhile to get there. Growing up in the south (she was born in Kansas City, Missouri), the Academy of Country Music's Top New Female Vocalist in 1994 said she doesn't have "a memory in my life that doesn't include the dream of making music."

But she resided in a world that shunned homosexuality and, therefore, "hid everything for my music."

Why come out now? The news coincides with the release of Wright's memoir this week Like Me, as well as her first album in five years, Lifted off the Ground.

Part of the official synopsis for the book reads that Wright made "a pact with God: to keep her "sinning" to a minimum if he'd get her to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry."

We're proud of her for finally revealing her true self to the world. What do you think of this announcement?

When Ricky Martin and Adam Lambert came out of the closet, the entertainment world was proud, but not exactly shocked.

According to TMZ, though, Chely Wright is ready to make a surprising announcement: she's gay.

People magazine first floated the rumor that a significant star would reveal her homosexuality in the near future, and TMZ has confirmed it's Wright. The country singer, whose "Single White Female" hit number-one in 1999, has an autobiography and a new CD coming out this week.

We're always happy when a celebrity (or a human being in general) is confident and secure enough to make such an admission publicly - but it would help her cause if she weren't promoting an album at the same time.

If this report is accurate, Wright will be the first major country singer to go public with her sexual orientation. It's a big risk, considering the conservative demographic of country music fans.

We wish her the best of luck.