Caleb Shomo is opening up about his personal life.
In an emotional Instagram post on Saturday (May 23), the frontman of rock/metalcore band Beartooth came out as gay.
“There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding my personal life as of late and I feel compelled to set the record straight before it affects those I love any further,” Shomo wrote. “I am a proudly gay man.”
He continued, “This is something I’ve been unpacking and reckoning with in my life for quite some time now. It’s been difficult to navigate the feelings surrounding the subject and figure out what to do with this fact.”
Beartooth, which formed in 2012 and recently signed to Fearless Records, has scored two No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart with 2018’s Disease and 2023’s The Surface.
The singer and multi-instrumentalist, 33, has been married to his wife, Fleur Shomo, for the past 14 years.
“I have always strived to chase who I am in the deepest part of my soul from album to album,” Caleb Shomo wrote. “As you could gather if you’ve followed the band at all in the earlier years, there are four very self-deprecating albums about exploring my religious upbringing, depression, self-hatred, self-loathing, and hopelessness. I am grateful for all these albums, yet feel embarrassed at times that I wouldn’t allow myself to really dig up the roots for so long.”
He added, “I spent a decade burying feelings with alcohol, and honestly, when I decided to put it down and focus on exploring why I felt this way for so long, it’s been a direct path to me reconciling with my sexuality in hopes that it will eventually lead me to experiencing self-love.”
Beartooth’s sixth album, Pure Ecstasy, is scheduled for release on Aug. 28 through Fearless.
“One thing I decided before I wrote a single note or lyric of the upcoming album is that whatever happens, I will express myself wholeheartedly and fully,” Shomo wrote. “Wherever it takes me I will follow and I refuse to water any part of it down, from the music, to the lyrical content, and way I portray myself. I will only do what makes me happy at the deepest level and what is the most honest depiction of who I am.”
Following his announcement, Shomo’s wife, Fleur, shared her own statement on Instagram, expressing support for him while also confirming that they are no longer together.
“I will always want to love, protect and support Caleb. I have cared more about his well-being over the years than anything else in the world,” Fleur Shomo wrote. “To see the confusion and pain he went through and the highs and lows and wanting to help but now knowing how. You never want anything more for your person than for them to just be ok.”
She added, “Our nearly 14 years of marriage was wonderful and full of so much fun, adventure & love. Nobody will know anything about our marriage like we do. And no one can ever truly know what depths of love exist between two people unless they are those people. I already miss it & my husband more than anything. Our story was a good one. And now it is done.”
Read Caleb Shomo’s full post on Instagram here.
