Chris Jewell was in tears after a big fight with his boyfriend of five years. Highly distressed, he phoned his mother, Yvonne, with whom his relationship had become strained. On the phone, his voice shaking, he said: 'Mum, I’m really upset. I just need to talk to you. I’ve just had a massive fight with Brendan …' His mum interrupted, suggesting he simply get a new roommate. 'Mum,' Chris said. 'Brendan’s not my roommate. He’s my partner.'
The next day Yvonne requested her son meet her at a cafe. Rather than the hug he needed, she said: 'You’ve chosen a very difficult life Chris. You’ll be very lonely. You’ll have no friends. And your health is at risk.' She then asked him to return the key to the family home. As he slid the key across the table, Chris said: 'One day, on your deathbed, your one regret will be you disowned the son who does all the right things, awaiting an armageddon that never came.' That was in 2004. They barely spoke for 12 years.
The armageddon refers to his mother’s strong Jehovah’s Witness beliefs about the sinfulness of homosexuality. Chris had been banned from celebrating birthdays or Christmas, and sent door to door to preach biblical messages. 'I was lonely and depressed,' he says. 'I prayed constantly to God to ease those crushing feelings. He didn’t.'
The hiatus ended with the 2017 Australian reality TV show Bride and Prejudice, in which Chris revealed he had met the love of his life, Grant. On national TV, he asked if his parents would attend the wedding. In one of the most chilling pieces of Australian TV ever recorded, his parents refused. When a calm Chris asked if they would at least meet his fiancé, his mother said: 'No we really don’t want any part of that. And we’d like you to respect that.' Chris, fighting back tears, said: 'I don’t have parents. That’s how I feel.'
The clip went viral. Chris, now 42, receives messages about it, 99% supportive. But his parents received death threats. Chris says: 'I remember one said about my mum, “this has to be one of the most hated parents in Australia.”'
Chris, sadly, isn’t alone. At the time of the interview, a Brazilian mother who killed her teenage son for being gay was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Even in countries with same-sex marriage, a YouGov poll for the Albert Kennedy Trust found that a quarter of adults would not be proud if their child came out, and one in 10 would feel uncomfortable living at home with their child if they came out as LGBT.
