For the first time, the famous CEO of Apple decided to open up about his sexuality. Tim Cook just revealed that he is very proud to be gay. The star made these revelations in an essay published in Businessweek on Thursday. 

“I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me,” Tim Cook claimed, adding that his sexual orientation has never been a secret. He actually said that people working for Apple have always known that he is gay. “Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I’m gay, and it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the way they treat me,” Cook explained. 

Tim Cook also claimed that he has never denied his sexuality, although he never admitted it, either. Since Cook became the CEO of the famous tech company, a series of rumors have been linked to his sexuality. Cook never talked about these rumors. However, it seems that he now changed his mind, claiming that “desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important.”

So, the CEO of Apple explained that the only reason why he never talked about this is the fact that he values his privacy. And this is something that should not be concerning the public. However, he realized that talking about his sexuality might help others and his supposition might be true after all. 

“So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy,” Tim Cook said. 

Tim Cook’s decision to publicly admit his sexuality might be an important step in helping others do the same. Moreover, it can also make many accept this easier. Still, openly gay executives are rare nowadays, In fact, Tim Cook is said to be the only openly gay CEO in the Fortune 500 list of top US companies. 

Cook has joined Apple in 1998. He took the role of the CEO of the company in 2011, after Steve Jobs passed away.