Clay Aiken Thought Homosexuality Was A 'Phase' 9/24/08

American Idol star Clay Aiken struggled for most of his life to accept his sexuality because he was convinced it was just a "phase". The 29-year-old singer revealed he was homosexual in the new issue of U.S. magazine People, featuring him in a photospread with his new baby son Parker on the cover.

And Aiken recalls it wasn't until he moved out from his North Carolina home to the west coast that he felt comfortable enough to make the admission.

He recalls, "I don't know many people who are (gay) who weren't confused... When I got out to Los Angeles and I realized there are 'normal' people who are (gay), it became a little easier for me... The first person I ever told was (fellow American Idol finalist) Kim Locke, and that's why we became best friends and roommates.

It was the first time I ever admitted it to myself... "I probably didn't realize until college, when I was like, I just cannot get the hang of this! I thought it was always a phase, like I hadn't hit puberty. Like I hadn't finished yet. Like I was a late bloomer... I was raised around people who thought it was a choice."