Maria Bello Comes Out as Bisexual

Thank you for our Sunday night warm fuzzies, Maria Bello! The star of A History of Violence and Thank You For Smoking, Maria Bello, has revealed she's currently dating a woman in a New York Times editorial. Following in the footsteps of celebrities like Wentworth Miller, who revealed he was gay in an open letter to protest Russia's prejudice against homosexuals, Bello penned the editorial to support "modern families" in our modern era.

And the editorial told a sweet story besides — at the center of Bello's write-up was the moment she decided to tell her son with ex-husband Dan McDermott that she was dating a close family friend. "Are you romantic with anyone right now?" her son asked.

I took a deep breath, knowing that my answer, and his response, would have an impact on our lives for a very long time.

He was right; I was with someone romantically and I hadn’t told him. I had become involved with a woman who was my best friend, and, as it happens, a person who is like a godmother to my son.

Bello realized she had feelings for her friend, who she refers to as Clare, when looking through photos chronicling their friendship.

We had an immediate connection but didn’t think of it as romantic or sexual. She was one of the most beautiful, charming, brilliant and funny people I had ever met, but it didn’t occur to me, until that soul-searching moment in my garden, that we could perhaps choose to love each other romantically ... The next time I saw her, in New York, I shared my confusing feelings, and we began the long, painful, wonderful process of trying to figure out what our relationship was supposed to be.

Of course, seeing as we exist in a nation in which DOMA is now non-existent, Bello's revelation is sweet, but, refreshingly, NBD. Instead, other portions of her editorial were far more shocking and scandalous — not only did Bello admit that, this summer, she was so ill that "it looked as if I might not survive," but she also wrote about unsuccessful relationships with some unnamed men:

I read about the two men I fell for while working on films. I was sure each was my soul mate, a belief fueled by sexual attraction that made me certain I was in love, only to find that when the filming ended, so did the relationship. And I read about the man who asked me to marry him four years ago over the phone, before we had even kissed. Three months later we were in his kitchen throwing steaks at each other’s heads in anger.

(For the record, based on the timing, it appears the latter relationship she writes about was with musician Bryn Mooser.)

As for how her son ultimately felt about her confession? Wrote Bello about his response to her admission: "Mom, love is love, whatever you are,” he said with wisdom beyond his years." Now, that's what we call a Hollywood ending.