“The most beautiful thing in life is when you have the right partner with whom you can share everything” – the former driver wrote in an Instagram post published on July 14.
Schumacher talks about relief after coming out
Revealing your sexual orientation publicly when you are not heterosexual is always a stressful moment. Such stress was felt Ralph Schumacher and his partner, Etienne Bousquet-Cassagne. The German's post on social media, in which he added a photo together with the Frenchman, was met with positive reception.
A lot of warm words flowed from the community Formula 1“I'm so glad you finally found someone you really feel comfortable with and safely” commented his son, David Schumacher.
– He definitely didn't feel comfortable coming out as gay, but this shows that the time has come where we can finally take that step and not be afraid. We have to keep fighting to make everyone feel accepted and welcome. We all have to be proud of the progress we're making – he noted Lewis Hamilton“I'm happy for you, Ralf!” – this is the comment of the legendary tennis playerBoris Becker.
Two months have passed since coming out, Schumacher has met with general acceptance. Today he does not hide that he feels easier after all this. What is important to him is that he gets along very well with his partner, he has no problems with communication.
– A few weeks after coming out, I feel an indescribable relief. Etienne and I have similar characters, we are conservatives in a sense – he said in an interview with RTL, which released fragments of the interview. The whole is to be broadcast on Sunday.
The former F1 driver's partner himself admitted that he was as stressed about coming out as Ralf. “His statement was a surprise to me. I felt a bit scared about it all,” he said in an interview.
After coming out, German media criticized Schumacher for hypocrisy, recalling a story from 2015 when he ordered journalists to write an article titled “Ralf Schumacher: I am not gay!”. The revelation of a relationship with another man did not go down well with the driver's ex-wife.
– I regret that Ralf neither included me, nor at least let me be a part of his decision. When he announced his coming out, it was like a blow to the heart. Coming out always affects the people around you, including your ex-wife, with whom you had a child. Today I feel used in my marriage. I feel that I wasted my best years – the woman complained in “Der Spiegel”. Their relationship was stormy, the marriage ended in divorce after 14 years. Brinkmann posed for the adult magazine “Playboy” and also set up an account on one of the portals for adults. Her son David has completely cut off contact with her.