Ty Herndon, who topped the country charts in the mid-'90s with What Mattered Most and Living in a Moment, has come out as gay.
"I'm an out, proud and happy gay man," the singer, 51, told People during an interview Tuesday.
Herndon says he began coming out to family members when it was 20 but tried to keep it a secret during his music career.
"My mother probably knew I was gay before I did. I remember sitting down with her and having the conversation," Herndon tells People, adding that his family "has seen me struggle with being gay my whole career."
In 1995, Herndon was charged with possession of methamphetamine and exposing himself to a male police officer in a Dallas park shortly before he was to perform at a state police chiefs' convention there. He entered a "plea in bar" of no contest to the indecent exposure charge, allowing it to erased from his record upon completion of probation.
He topped the country charts two more times following the arrest, in 1996 with Living in a Moment and in 1998 with It Must Be Love. His last single to reach the country top 40 was Heather's Wall in 2002, and his last album was 2013's Lies I Told Myself.
