Meredith Baxter, who played the mom on the long running hit Family Ties has come out as a lesbian, saying she has been dating women for the past seven years. Meredith, 62, was most famously married to David Birney and went by the name Meredith Baxter Birney. Meredith gave the exclusive to The Today Show this morning.
For seven years, actress Meredith Baxter has been hiding a secret.
Now, Baxter, who played the devoted hippie mom constantly butting heads with her conservative kids on “Family Ties,” is making a public admission.
"I am a lesbian and it was a later-in-life recognition," she told Matt Lauer on TODAY. "Some people would say, well, you're living a lie and, you know, the truth is -- not at all. This has only been for the past seven years."
Baxter, 62, though anxious, decided to come out on national television after her sexuality became tabloid fodder.
"I've always lived a very private life," said the actress, who's never even had a publicist. "To come out and disclose stuff is very antithetical to who I am."
The National Enquirer reported that Baxter was spotted last month aboard a Caribbean cruise sponsored by lesbian travel company Sweet, writing that she was seen "traveling with a female friend, and she seemed very relaxed and comfortable."
Baxter admitted that she did indeed take the vacation with her girlfriend, despite the threat that the couple would be outed.
"I don't want to be worried all the time," she said. "I knew I was pushing it."
Meredith says her children are very supportive of her and her decision to publicly come out. Meredith said she told her oldest son "I think I'm gay," and he replied "I knew." She told Matt Lauer that "The support from my family and anyone close to me has been so immediate and unqualified. I've really been blessed." Meredith has been in a committed relationship with Nancy, a contractor who is out, for four years now.
