Rory Feek opens up on accepting lesbian daughter: My job is 'to love her'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rory Lee Feek, of Joey + Rory, poses in the press room with the award for best roots gospel album for "Hymns" at the 59th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Only days after Rory Feek lost his wife and musical partner, Joey Feek, to a battle with cancer in 2016, Rory knew that something was going on with his daughter Hopie.
“I said, ‘Just tell me, Hopie,’ ” the 53-year-old recalled for an upcoming interview with “CBS Sunday Morning” (via People). “And she went on to tell me that her friend Wendy was more than her friend, that [she and] Wendy had been dating for almost a year. And that she was in love.”
The deeply religious singer initially struggled to accept his daughter’s sexuality.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“And my first reaction, honestly, was I don’t know,” he remarked. “Because my conservative Christian faith that saved me — the first reaction is that challenges that immensely.”
Rory then recalled asking himself, “Am I supposed to shun my child now and say, ‘No, you can’t be in my life until you come around to thinking like I’m thinking’?”
The country crooner eventually realized that his only job as Hopie’s father is “to love her,” so he came around to accepting her.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“The only thing I try to keep in mind is it’s her life, it’s her choice, it’s her faith,” he explained. “And my job is to love her even when it’s hard.”
Hopie and Wendy are now engaged, according to an Instagram post from her sister Heidi Feek.