VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Brooke Eden On Coming Out As Queer, Changing Country Music, Trisha Yearwood Officiating Her Wedding

Country singer Brooke Eden shared how she came out of the closet to be true to herself in her new uInterview.

Eden, who was twice a contestant on American Idol, described why she came out in the famously conservative country music industry in the new documentary Rebel Country, which just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

“I mean, for me, country music is about the truth,” Eden said. “It’s about the American society — and the truth. And I feel like for the longest time, country music has only been telling the story of a very small majority of the country, of what’s going on here in America.”

She continued, “I think it’s been pushing fans away for a long time, people who could possibly love country music, and in the last few years, it has really been awesome to see so many fans feel more included in country music. And for me, that’s what it’s all about. It’s about creating a space for everyone – a safe space, and a space where people feel like they can hear themselves and see themselves.”

“Growing up, I always sang country music, and I always had people make fun of it, especially people my age who would say, ‘It doesn’t sound like me,” she added. “Now people say they love country music because there’s music for them, and I think that’s so important.”

Eden described the period when she came out. “When I met my wife in 2015, people started to figure out we were together in Spring of 2016,” she said. “We had people come up to us and say if you guys come out, your career is over, so I felt like we had no choice other than to be in the closet. So, we were in the closet from 2016-2021. And those were the worst five years of my life. It’s so hard to live a double life, and that’s exactly what I was doing. I was one person to my family and friends and a completely different person to my fans and radio, and anytime I was on a stage.”

She explained, “I just got to a point where I couldn’t do it. It was truly a matter of life or death for me to come out. I just got to a point where I was like, ‘I don’t care what the consequences are.'”

Ultimately, she was married to her wife by country icon Trisha Yearwood in a private ceremony.

“Even if I can just be a small voice for the queer community,” Eden concluded, “that’s what I want to be in country music.”