This CNN Analyst broke off an arranged marriage. Now, he's celebrating Pride Month

Coming out led to some of the "darkest times" in Saju Mathew's life. Today, he's marking Pride Month as an out gay man with accomplishments in medicine and media.

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Mathews, a medical analyst for CNN and primary care physician, recently commemorated Pride Month with a post celebrating his journey. Born and raised in a South Indian family, Mathews shared that he was originally arranged to marry a woman until he broke off the engagement and came out to his fiancée and family as gay.

While the "fight" was not easy, and led to a rift between himself and some family members, Mathews said he's better off today because of it.

"Happy PrideMonth2024. I fought to break away from an arranged marriage set up & told the truth," Mathews recently wrote on Threads. "As a #Southasian male & only son, this was not easy. I hurt a lot of close family members. While I am not 'proud' of being gay, I am VERY proud of my fight!"

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Mathews previously opened up about his journey in a separate post in December, elaborating on the "pressure" he felt to conform to his culture's expectations. Arraigned marriages are still the standard in India, though they have been on the decline in recent years, according to CNN.

Mathews, said the fallout from his coming out led to "some of the darkest times in my life." He still encouraged his followers to live authentically, assuring that his decision was worth it in the end.

"It was not easy to break away from the pressure of the South Indian Culture & arranged marriage set up. But I did & I came out. I broke my engagement & told her the truth. It was some of the darkest times in my life. But here I am, living my life. You only get this one chance. Be honest & things will eventually fall in place!"

Post by @adventureswbubba

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