Clay Aiken, the runner-up on American Idol’s second season, has revealed to People magazine that he is gay.

The new dad said, “It was the first decision I made as a father. I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn’t raised that way, and I’m not going to raise a child to do that.”

Fan reaction to the news has been mixed, but mostly supportive, leaving Aiken to say on his website’s message board, “For the first time in recent memory, I am speechless. I’m so proud to know and love all of you,” and adding that, “My family is so much larger than Parker, Jaymes, mom, Brett, etc. It extends to each of you. And I couldn’t be more blessed.”