Governor's daughter, 18, says she is a lesbian

(Marilyn Humphries photo courtesy of Bay Windows)

Katherine Patrick and her father.

By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Governor Deval Patrick's 18-year-old daughter announced this morning that she is a lesbian, calling it a source of pride that she is ready to share with Massachusetts.

"As private of an issue as it is, we've sort of had to come to terms with the fact that we are a public family and there you give a part of yourself away," Katherine Patrick told the gay newspaper Bay Windows in an article published today. "And we also ... wanted people to know that it's not only something that we accept, but it's something that we’re very proud of. It's a great aspect of our lives and there's nothing about it that is shameful or that we would want to hide."

Katherine, who attended St. Andrew's School in Delaware and is planning to attend Smith College in the fall, told the paper that she came out to her parents on July 3, 2007, as the family prepared for a picnic by the pool at their home in the Berkshires.

She recounted walking into the kitchen, asking her parents to stop what they were doing, and asked her aunt to leave the room.

When her parents turned to her, she said, "I’m a lesbian."

"And I'll always remember the first thing my dad did," Katherine said. He "wrapped me in a bear hug and said, 'Well, we love you no matter what.'"

Katherine had already come out to her friends, her sister, Sarah, and a maternal aunt with whom she is close, Lynn Prime.

The governor later quipped, "Why the hell did she tell her aunt before she told me?"

"It was a nonevent in the sense that there wasn't any tension," Diane Patrick told Bay Windows. "I was just happy for her that she knew who she was and that she was comfortable with who she was."

The article said the Patricks reluctantly agreed to the interview with Bay Windows because they wanted to avoid a "gotcha" story that would imply the family was not supportive of Katherine. The interview took place at the headquarters of MassEquality, where Katherine has been an intern for three months.

At one point during the interview, the governor started to tear up.

"Don't cry, Dad," Katherine said as she recounted her emotions as he led the fight to quash an antigay marriage amendment last year, not knowing at the time his daughter was gay. "He's done some good things. I appreciate it. Want a tissue? Oh, God. He's a crier."

"First of all, we’ve had so many people in our lives whom we love who are gay or lesbian, so that’s not that unfamiliar to us," the governor said. "You know, I can still -- because we live in Massachusetts -- I can still imagine what Katherine's wedding is going to be like."

Then, as he lowered his voice, he added, "How much it's gonna cost."

The governor said his first inkling that his daughter might be gay came when she started watching a show on Showtime that depicts a close-knit group of lesbians who live in Los Angeles.

"I think when Katherine started to memorize all the episodes of 'The L Word,' there was some hint that maybe she was sending us," Patrick said.

The governor has since offered to watch an episode or two with her.

"I love you," Katherine responded, laughing. "But there's certain things, there's certain lines."

Katherine said she began feeling attracted to women during the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school, but it wasn't until after joining her father in last year's Boston Pride Parade that she became comfortable calling herself a lesbian.

Patrick and his daughter are planning to march in that same parade together on Saturday.

"Definitely, I’ve come into my own since then and I feel much more comfortable with myself," Katherine told the paper. "And I’ve been closer to my parents since coming out than any other time, I think."

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