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"Wrestling icon Pat Patterson came out as gay Thursday, June 12, on the finale of WWE Network&amp;apos;s reality show Legend&amp;apos;s House. The 73-year-old WWE legend revealed on the episode that he had kept his sexual orientation a secret for decades, sharing his struggle with his fellow pro wrestling pals.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;Sitting here tonight, I&amp;apos;m gonna say something that I would never want to say, publicly,&amp;quot; Patterson says in the clip provided by WWE. &amp;quot;For once in my life, I&amp;apos;m gonna be me now,&amp;quot; he continues, tearing up. &amp;quot;I survived all this, being gay.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nSobbing and wiping his face with a napkin, he adds: &amp;quot;I lived with that for 50-something years. I had a friend with me for 40 years and I lost him because he had a heart attack&amp;#x2026; It&amp;apos;s tough guys, it was tough.&amp;quot;\r\nPatterson&amp;apos;s friends expressed their support for their longtime buddy, saying, &amp;quot;We love you, Pat.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nIn his confessional, Patterson explains his decision to come out now. &amp;quot;I gave my life to the business, I don&amp;apos;t regret nothing,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;For the rest of my life, I want to be happy.&amp;quot;\r\nThe WWE star, according to the WWE Network&amp;apos;s website, came from poverty in Quebec when he joined the organization. Patterson rose to fame as the organization&amp;apos;s first-ever &amp;quot;Intercontinental Champion,&amp;quot; and became known for his signature move, the &amp;quot;atomic drop.&amp;quot; In 1996, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Patterson now works for WWE as a creative consultant.\r\n\r\nAccording to Bleacher Report, Patterson&amp;apos;s announcement in Legend&amp;apos;s House was filmed back in 2012; however, the show didn&amp;apos;t start airing until April of this year. He is the second WWE megastar to come out as gay. Last August, Darren Young made the announcement while speaking to a TMZ cameraman in the airport."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/pat-patterson-gay-wwe-legend-comes-out-on-series-finale-2014136>