Beach Volleyball Teammates Kyle Friend and Tim Brewster Are Engaged

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Beach Volleyball Teammates Kyle Friend and Tim Brewster Are Engaged

Tim Brewster thought a rainy day was a perfectly good reason to postpone a lighthouse visit. His boyfriend, Kyle Friend, had eight months of planning behind a very different idea.

The former professional beach volleyball teammates got engaged beside Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, during a New England trip the weekend before their October 9 interview with Outsports.

Kyle had arranged their rings, secretly hired photographer Leah Carter and chosen the spot for his proposal. When the rain stopped, he got down on one knee with the lighthouse behind them. Tim said yes.

It was a romantic milestone for two men whose partnership began on the sand.

They started playing together in summer 2022. That November, during a tournament trip to Australia, Tim told Kyle he had feelings for him. Kyle’s answer was that those feelings were mutual.

There was already something important between them. Kyle had been openly gay in professional volleyball since 2013, and seeing him live comfortably as himself helped Tim navigate his own journey toward acceptance.

In their earlier account of becoming a couple, Tim described the difference it made to know an athlete who was both out and confident. Kyle’s example helped him on and off the court.

That gives the engagement an especially lovely layer. Someone who helped make an openly gay future feel possible is now the person Tim plans to share that future with.

Their sporting lives have taken different directions. Tim, 26, remains a competitive beach volleyball player.

Kyle, 37, has retired from professional competition and works as a volleyball commentator.

Tim says his LA28 Olympic qualification cycle begins in December, while Kyle faces a busy commentary schedule. They have not set a wedding date, but are looking toward fall 2028.

For now, they have a proposal to celebrate—and photographs of a moment Kyle had quietly been preparing for months.

Sometimes a rainy sightseeing trip is worth insisting on. Congratulations, Kyle and Tim.

📷 Leah Carter / @leahs\_lens\_

@kylefriend10 @timbrewster

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Greg Louganis on Being Single at 66—and Making Room for Love

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Greg Louganis on Being Single at 66—and Making Room for Love

Greg Louganis has spent much of his life being extraordinary. His latest reflection touches on something wonderfully ordinary: figuring out where another man might fit into a life that already has its own comfortable rhythm.

The 66-year-old Olympic diving legend recently wrote about being single on Facebook on October 8.

He describes a life with early nights and early mornings, and the challenge of meeting someone while growing accustomed to doing things his own way.

For anyone who has spent years living independently, the tension may be recognizable. A date sounds lovely. Rearranging the weekend, sharing the bathroom and negotiating bedtime might require a little more thought.

Greg has experienced marriage, too. He wed Johnny Chaillot in 2013, and announced their separation in 2021. His latest post turns toward patience and appreciating his own company.

Many readers remember him as the diver who won four Olympic gold medals across the 1984 and 1988 Games. His Team USA biography also recognizes his subsequent work as an LGBTQ+ activist.

That history makes it especially welcome to hear him discuss a part of gay life that rarely gets the glamorous treatment: being older, being single and still working out what you want.

There is no universal answer. Some people want to share a home. Others would love regular companionship while keeping their own space. Some are perfectly content without a romantic relationship.

Wanting affection does not cancel out the pleasure of independence. Equally, enjoying a quiet home does not require closing the door on love.

Greg’s reflection leaves room for that complexity. A single life can be full and valuable, with or without another chapter of romance.

And if someone does come along, perhaps the question becomes: what could we enjoy together?

📷 @greglouganis

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One in Three LGBTQ+ Adults Surveyed Say They Are More Open Than Two Years Ago

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One in Three LGBTQ+ Adults Surveyed Say They Are More Open Than Two Years Ago

Sometimes being out is an ordinary sentence: “My husband and I went away for the weekend.” Sometimes it is the pause before that sentence, while you decide whether the person listening feels safe.

New research from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation captures the hope and caution that can sit beside each other in LGBTQ+ lives.

Released on October 8 ahead of National Coming Out Day on October 11, the findings show that 33% of LGBTQ+ adults surveyed say they are more open about their identity than two years ago. Another 45% report no change, while 22% say they are less open.

That comparison matters. The results describe people’s recollections of their own openness, rather than tracking the same individuals across two separate surveys.

HRC also reports that 56% say the current political climate makes them less likely to be open. Feeling pressure to conceal something and continuing to live openly are experiences that can coexist.

There are differences across generations, too. Older LGBTQ+ adults are the most likely to describe themselves as very open, while younger adults are more likely to report increased openness over the past two years.

For someone who spent decades learning to introduce a boyfriend without an explanation, those findings may carry a personal resonance.

The research also highlights particular pressure on transgender people: 70% of transgender and gender-expansive adults say the political climate makes them less likely to be open.

The online survey included 9,328 U.S. LGBTQ+ adults and ran from August 5 to September 8. Participants were recruited primarily through HRC Foundation’s research panel and additional outreach. Results were weighted, but the sample was not randomly selected; the figures are descriptive estimates, with no conventional margin of sampling error.

As Coming Out Day approaches, the findings offer something to celebrate without making openness an obligation. Whether someone introduces their husband freely, confides in one trusted friend or keeps part of their life private, they deserve dignity and support.

📷 AI

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Gay Deportee Ahmed Soliman Has Won a Return Order. He Is Not Home Yet.

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Gay Deportee Ahmed Soliman Has Won a Return Order. He Is Not Home Yet.

A federal judge has ordered U.S. officials to facilitate the release and return of Ahmed Soliman, a gay man who grew up in Phoenix and was deported to Equatorial Guinea despite having no ties to the country.

There is now movement toward complying with that order.

On October 9, NPR reported that the government had begun working with his lawyers to locate and contact him and start arranging his return. His arrival back in the United States has not been confirmed.

Soliman came to the U.S. from Egypt at four. He later became a lawful permanent resident. Criminal convictions led to imprisonment and immigration removal proceedings.

But an immigration judge granted him protection against removal to Egypt, finding that he faced a clear probability of torture because of his sexual orientation and his family’s political background.

U.S. officials instead deported him to Equatorial Guinea in April.

In an October 6 order, U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker found that Soliman had been removed without notice or a meaningful opportunity to raise fears about being sent there. The judge ruled that the government violated his due-process rights.

The court record describes what followed: confinement under armed guard, threats at gunpoint, beatings and detention without communication with his family or lawyers.

Soliman had spoken to journalists about conditions after his deportation. His subsequent detention left those trying to help him unable to maintain contact.

The judge ordered officials to facilitate his release and return, and to handle his case as it would have been handled had he not been improperly removed. Any further third-country removal must include notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard.

The ruling does not grant him permanent permission to stay in the United States. DHS has said it will comply with lawful court orders while continuing to pursue his removal.

That distinction matters. So does the protection at the heart of this case: criminal convictions do not remove a person’s right to due process or make torture an acceptable consequence.

For Soliman and the people waiting for news of him, the next milestone is practical and urgent—release from custody, confirmed safety and an actual return.

📷 Ahmed Soliman photograph courtesy of Kate O’Donnell.

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Michael Johnston Played Gay Characters Before He Could Fully Accept Himself

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Michael Johnston Played Gay Characters Before He Could Fully Accept Himself

Michael Johnston was bringing gay characters to the screen while still trying to feel comfortable with his own sexuality. Looking back, he says those roles helped him change the way he saw himself.

The actor, now enjoying a breakthrough with the horror hit Obsession, reflects on that experience in a new Attitude cover interview, covered by Out on October 8.

Growing up in a Southern Baptist family in North Carolina, Johnston absorbed frightening messages about being gay. Accepting himself took time.

His acting work became part of that process.

He played Corey Bryant on Teen Wolf and appeared as Neil in the queer film Slash. Those characters offered a way to engage with experiences he was still learning to embrace in his own life.

Johnston now describes a shift from seeing his sexuality as a weakness to recognizing it as a strength. He connects that change with the empathy he has developed.

Then viewers began telling him what his visibility meant to them. He recalls receiving thousands of messages of thanks, including accounts from people who felt better about themselves and people who were able to come out to their parents.

That response gives the story a particularly moving connection. While an actor was working through his own feelings, someone watching could find reassurance in the character he played.

For many LGBTQ+ viewers, that recognition begins with a simple feeling: there is somebody else like me.

Johnston’s current chapter also includes people he loves. Accepting the Film Award at this week’s Attitude Awards, he mentioned that his mother and his partner were there with him.

His partner’s identity has not been confirmed in the reporting used here, but Johnston’s acknowledgement makes room for the relationship alongside the professional milestone.

He is now looking forward to more queer storytelling as his career opens new doors.

These reflections are not a new coming-out announcement. They are a chance to understand what came before his current success: the roles that helped him accept himself, and the viewers who found something of their own lives in his work.

📷 @themichaeljohnston @lacoste

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