The 31-year-old singer and Las Vegas native paused for thought. So I was feeling very conflicted about it and feeling I had to choose between family and freedom.” Because I didn’t want to let down my parents, or tarnish my brothers’ perfect track record.
“That was really intimidating for me - and very overwhelming - especially when I was questioning my faith and didn’t even feel like I had room to do that. “I am the seventh son, so I really had a pathway laid out ahead of me that had already been paved in stone by my six brothers, who all served Mormon missions, got married in the Mormon temple, were Eagle Scouts, were overachievers, and followed a very narrow path,” Reynolds said. But he didn’t know how to address them as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Raised in Las Vegas in a conservative Mormon family with one sister and six brothers, Reynolds had issues with the strictures of his faith early on. (Reynolds and Volkman, who have three young daughters, separated in April.) As an adult, he was dismayed when two of his wife’s best friends - a gay couple - were not allowed to attend his 2011 wedding to Nico Vega band front woman Aja Volkman. Reynolds first became aware of the plight of young gay Mormons as a teenager. The singer’s devotion to fostering acceptance of LGBTQ youth among the larger Mormon community is earnestly chronicled in “Believer,” the 2018 film documentary that culminates at last year’s first LoveLoud festival. He has become increasingly alarmed by the high suicide rates of young Mormons, who wrestle with their sexuality in a religion that has long considered homosexuality a sin. Bridging and embracing the differences between people is a cause near and dear to Reynolds’ heart.
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