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TJ house spoke publicly about his sexuality for the first time on Thursday, December 8th, in a heartfelt post on his social media, one of the most important things anyone can define for themselves. “Each of us defines love differently, but at the core we all want to feel the same. To be loved by someone who only wants the best for you and walks through life’s trials side by side,” he said in a heartfelt announcement. Learn more about TJ here!
1. TJ came out in a long Facebook post
In his coming out postTJ also announced that he is engaged to his longtime boyfriend Ryan Neitzel. With the exciting announcement, the baseball player explained that while he was so fortunate to be able to play ball professionally, he wished he could have shared his life with someone. “Don’t get me wrong, I have loved every moment of my playing time and I would do it again if I had the chance,” he wrote. “Even with all the money, fancy cars, nice clothes and a little fame, I would go home every night wishing I could change. Deep down I wanted more, I wanted to be loved, not for what I did but for who I was.”
He shared that he was happy to share his engagement following passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in Congress and that he looked forward to spending his life with his future husband. “It allows Ryan Neitzel and I to come together and create something beautiful. It gives me the confidence to get engaged to the person I love (he said yes!), to marry them. I have an amazing fiancé who challenges me every day to be a better person. Live life authentically. One I never deserved but blessed. Love you see it’s for everyone,” he wrote. “Today I am loved.”
2. He has been with his fiancee for 8 years
Although TJ hadn’t come out publicly until his last post, he has been dating Ryan for a very long time and his fiancé has made many appearances with him Instagram. He celebrated their eighth anniversary with a series of photoslabeled with a Harry Potter Quote (“Always”) back in September. “Happy 8 is about the sun,” he wrote along with the quote.
3. He started his career with the Cleveland Indians in 2014
As he alluded to in his Facebook post, playing pro baseball was a childhood dream for TJ. After three years on minor league teams, the southpaw was promoted to MLB in May 2014. He finished the season with five wins and three losses. In the following two seasons, he only played four games a year and became a free agent in November 2016. He then signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays and played two more MLB games with them.
4. He played in the minor leagues from 2018 to 2020
After his time with the Blue Jays, TJ signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. He spent the remaining years of his pro baseball career as a minor league. He played for teams in Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Sugar Land, Texas before becoming a free agent after the 2020 season.
5. He became a real estate agent after retiring from baseball
After retiring from professional baseball, TJ made a major career change and became a real estate agent, which he seems very happy with! He currently works for Cutler Real Estate and spoke about why he loves this industry so much website. “Ability to connect with people and help them move to a new place in their life,” he said of his career choice.
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