Meredith Baxter Comes Out

Meredith Baxter, star of the 80s sitcom Family Ties and numerous Lifetime movies about bulimia, came out this morning on the Today Show.

“I am a lesbian and it was a later-in-life recognition,” she told Matt Lauer on TODAY. “Some people would say, well, you’re living a lie and, you know, the truth is — not at all. This has only been for the past seven years.” Baxter, 62, though anxious, decided to come out on national television after her sexuality became tabloid fodder. “I’ve always lived a very private life,” said the actress, who’s never even had a publicist. “To come out and disclose stuff is very antithetical to who I am.” The National Enquirer reported that Baxter was spotted last month aboard a Caribbean cruise sponsored by lesbian travel company Sweet, writing that she was seen “traveling with a female friend, and she seemed very relaxed and comfortable.” Baxter admitted that she did indeed take the vacation with her girlfriend, despite the threat that the couple would be outed. “I don’t want to be worried all the time,” she said. “I knew I was pushing it.”

Baxter says she was finally forced to officially come out after Perez Hilton yesterday posted photos of her and her girlfriend.