Beccy Cole and her son Ricky at the 2011 Country Music Awards of Australia.
The singer says that the move was inspired by a desire to set a good example for her 13-year-old son, "My number one reasoning is I have a 13-year-old son. I want to set an example to him of being who you are and not being scared of who you are," she said.
The seven-time Golden Guitar winner says she made the 'personal discovery' that she was gay following the collapse of her marriage to musician Mick Albeck when her son was still a baby. Her decision to wait more than a decade to go public about her sexuality was not an easy one.
"It's definitely uncomfortable if you've got a big part of yourself, if such an important part of yourself is a secret and kept inside," she told Australian Story. "In the darkness of an evening, sometimes that has been a difficult thing for me to cope with over the years."
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Aside from wanting to set a good example for her son, Cole also felt the time was right for her to make a stand for same-sex marriage rights.
"I think that marriage itself is a personal decision; people should be able to marry who they love, gay, straight or otherwise," she said.
"She's always felt like she's holding something back from everyone," says fellow singer Kasey Chambers, her best friend since they were teenagers in South Australia.
Ultimately Cole hopes her sexuality won't matter to fans, 'at the end of the day, it is the music that matters," she said.
Cole will tell her full story tonight on 'Australian Story'.
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