Just two months after announcing the end of her marriage, Elizabeth Gilbert has revealed she is in a same-sex relationship with her best friend.
The best-selling author made the announcement through a lengthy Facebook post in which she explained why she decided to make a public announcement about her feelings.
Gilbert said that her love for her best friend became more apparent to her after Elias was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “This spring, I received news that would change my life forever. My best friend Rayya Elias was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer — a disease for which there is no cure,” she stated at the beginning of her post.
“Something happened to my heart and mind in the days and weeks following Rayya’s diagnosis. Death — or the prospect of death — has a way of clearing away everything that is not real, and in that space of stark and utter realness, I was faced with this truth: I do not merely love Rayya; I am in love with Rayya,” Gilbert announced.
“And I have no more time for denying that truth. The thought of someday sitting in a hospital room with her, holding her hand and watching her slide away, without ever having let her (or myself!) know the extent of my true feelings for her…well, that thought was unthinkable.”
Elizabeth and Rayya have been friends for more than 15 years – “She’s my best friend, yes, but it’s always been bigger than that. She’s my role model, my traveling companion, my most reliable source of light, my fortitude, my most trusted confidante. In short, she is my PERSON,” wrote Elizabeth.
Now, she added, “I’m walking through this cancer journey with her, not only as her friend, but as her partner.”
