This woman's coming-out advice to her younger self will have you in tears
"I know you’re afraid to come out to your friends right now. But don’t worry."
True friends love you for who you are even when you don't quite know yourself yet -- that's the powerful message behind one newlywed's tweet.
Earlier this month, Grace Baldridge, 27, tweeted a photo of herself with three childhood friends at prom back in 2009.
She wrote, "Dear Grace-At-Prom, I know you’re afraid to come out to your friends right now. But don’t worry. They're gonna be your bridesmaids one day."
Baldridge, 27, ended the tweet with another photo surrounded by the same women on her wedding day.
"I knew and I've known for some time [that I was gay]," Baldridge told "Good Morning America." "You kind of start convincing yourself, 'If I pretend and act like everyone else ... I'll kind of fake it 'til I make it.'"
Baldridge now lives in of Los Angeles. She grew up in Delaware, but moved to Waterloo, Belgium, in the third grade after her dad was offered a job there. That's where she met Ariane Harper, Cecilia Jeppsson and Juliana Bambridge. The foursome quickly became fast friends.
After high school, Baldridge slowly began coming out as gay to her friends and family. Every one of them supported her, she said.
"They would never pressure me or push me, or gossip," Baldridge explained. "It just felt so safe."
On Aug. 4, Baldridge married her girlfriend Elizabeth, 27, at a ceremony in Malibu. Harper, Jeppsson and Bambridge all served as bridesmaids.
While Baldridge was on her honeymoon, one of the girls shared the prom photo on Instagram, she said.
"It's crazy to think in that photo, I knew prom was such a sham -- going in this dress and really hiding a lot," Baldridge explained. "I feel a little bit of heartache for that kid that was privately so lonely and sad and I wish I had known then that it all works out."
To share that message with others, Baldridge decided to tweet the prom photo alongside a shot of the same squad on her wedding day.
Twitter users quickly fell in love with Baldridge's story of true friendship.
Harper, Jeppsson and Bambridge all shared their support for their beloved BFF with "GMA."
Jeppsson said Baldridge came out to her after their high school graduation.
"[I] just tried to make her feel loved and safe as she was clearly nervous about coming out," Jeppsson wrote in an email. "I couldn’t be happier for her and Elizabeth!"
Harper agreed.
"I always loved and will always love Grace for who she is as a person and the uncontrollable laughter and joy she brings to my life -- that isn't altered by who she chooses to love. [It] turns out Elizabeth is the best person ever, so win-win!" Harper wrote in an email.
Bambridge said she was proud of her friend for sharing her story with others.
"I would always accept Grace for the beautiful soul that she is, regardless of her sexual orientation, but it gave me such peace to know that she was ready to accept herself and share it with others," Bambridge wrote in an email.
Editor's note: This was originally published on August. 22, 2018.
