Wrestling icon Pat Patterson has come out as gay after being in the closet for the past 50 years. 73-year-old Patterson, who's a WWE exec, dropped the news on the finale of WWE Network's "Legends' House". In a clip provided by WWE, a sobbing Pat, wiping his face with a napkin, said:
"Sitting here tonight, I'm gonna say something that I would never want to say, publicly. For once in my life I'm going to be me now. I survived all this, being gay. I lived with that for 50-something years. I had a friend (his partner) with me for 40 years and I lost him because he had a heart attack… It's tough guys, it was tough."Explaining his decision to come out now, Pat continued:
I gave my life to the business, I don't regret nothing. For the rest of my life, I want to be happy."The WWE star came from poverty in Quebec when he joined the organization. Patterson rose to fame as the organization's first-ever "Intercontinental Champion," and became known for his signature move, the "atomic drop." In 1996, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Patterson now works for WWE as a creative consultant. He is the second WWE megastar to come out as gay.
