A huge amount of PRIDE: I find myself coming out every day

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In this series, we celebrate the diversity of our people across Jaguar Land Rover. We meet Laura Coombs-Fellowes who explains the challenges she faced opening up to her parents.

When you meet Laura Coombs-Fellowes you will be struck by her warm, calm demeanour.

These attributes are essential when you consider she works as a Global Franchise Standards Coordinator and is Chairperson of the PRIDE Network at Jaguar Land Rover.

Laura recently had her happy-ever-after moment when she married partner Amy. But Laura’s story, much like a fairy-tale, was fraught with many challenges along the way.

Once she reached her mid-teens she started to better understand her sexuality, and had her first relationship.

Laura was at a crossroads, because although she confided in a select few friends, she knew it wouldn’t be so easy to tell her parents.

Unfortunately, her parents found out before she had the chance to tell them on her own terms.

Re-living the moment she built up the courage to speak about her sexuality with her mum, she says:

“It was an explosive experience, with tears shed, hugs given and raw emotions on show. But even though it was horrendous, it eventually brought us together as a family. And we are now closer than we were before.

“My mum and I are really close, and I didn't want to ruin that relationship, so I just avoided talking about my feelings and sexuality for a long time.”

Although scarred by the experience, Laura was inspired after seeing her younger sister with her boyfriend. It was a life-changing decision – she took to online dating and found future wife Amy.

Laura avoided telling her parents about Amy. However, as the relationship grew stronger, she built up the courage to tell them and their reaction was not what she expected.

“I was a little bit confused and relieved at the same time. My mum said ‘I wondered when you were going to tell me’. While my dad simply said ‘We think it's good’.”

Although Laura’s parents are fully supportive, she still finds herself coming out at work almost every day.

“It’s the everyday conversations about what happened last night, or what your plans are for the weekend that are difficult. People assume when you say ‘we’ you mean my ‘boyfriend and I’ and you have to decide whether to correct them or not.”

Coming out at Jaguar Land Rover has been easy enough for Laura, but she knows only too well how hard it can be for others, and shares a nugget of advice that has stood her in good stead.

“The best way is to be yourself, and they will accept you for that. I think people will surprise you.”