between 2004 and 2006, wright came out to members of her immediate family and to a few of her close friends. it was not until 2007 that she decided to come out publicly, but spent the next three years writing her autobiography. she stated that she wanted to come out to free herself from the burdens of living a lie, to lend support to gay children and teenagers, and to counter the belief that gays are wicked and defective. on may 3, 2010, "people magazine" reported her coming out. wright became one of the first members of the country music community to come out as gay; country artist k.d. lang came out in 1992 (though she later abandoned the country music genre), and kristen hall, formerly of sugarland, was openly gay while working with that band.