Some people come out in an intimate setting with a small group of friends and family. Others -- like 23-year-old McKinley McConnell -- choose to do it alongside a pop icon in a sold-out stadium.
Earlier this month, a video went viral of the fan as she publicly came out with the help of Harry Styles at his Love on Tour concert in Milwaukee. McConnell created a sign asking the Grammy-winning artist and actor to help her come out to her mother, Lisa. Styles spotted McConnell's mother in the crowd and announced "Lisa, she's gay!"
McConnell then appeared recently on Ellen DeGeneres' self-titled talk show with her mother and opened up about how it was Styles who inspired her to come out in the first place.
"He says this speech...he goes, 'My job for the next 90 minutes is to entertain you, but your job is to have the time of your life, to be whoever you want to be in this room, to love whoever you want to love in this room,'" she said. "I was like, that must be a sign."
McConnell shared that she now feels "so relaxed" and "true to myself," following the "overwhelming" night.
"I probably feel the happiest I've felt in a long time," she continued.
Her mother Lisa teared up and told DeGeneres that she was surprised but "very proud" of her daughter.
"I wanted to touch her so much and just give her a really big hug and tell her that I support her," she revealed. "But I couldn't...so that's when I blew the kisses."
Watch McConnell and her mother's full appearance on Ellen's show in the video below.
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