Carolyn Moos, WNBA Player PHOTOS; Jason Collins' Ex-Fiance Never Knew He Was Gay; [VIDEO]
Carolyn Moos, the former ex-fiance of NBA player Jason Collins dated for eight years, but never got married. Last week, Collins called Moos to tell her that their relationship was centered around a lie, and that he was gay.
Moos, the former WNBA player who has played for teams such as the Minnesota Lynx, Miami Sol and Phoenix Mercury broke up with Collins in 2009. She said she was tremendously shocked when she received a phone call from the basketball player explaining why he ended their engagement.
"It's very emotional for me as a woman to have invested [eight] years in my dream to have a husband, soul mate, and best friend in him. So this is all hard to understand," Moos said. "I care about [Jason] tremendously and only want the best for him. I want Jason to be happy for a lifetime and stay true to who he really is, inside and out."
Moos said after the phone call she felt hurt and depressed and had to sit down to reflect on the man she loved for so long. Eventually as some time went by, she was able to offer Collins some support.
"I was shocked. There's no words to really describe my reaction. ... But this does alleviate some of the pain. ... I'm so happy for him. He deserves to live the life he wants," Moos told ESPN.
Moos said she never suspected Collins to be gay and shared the same reaction as the public.
Collins kept his family members in the dark and blindsided for years and said that now it was the time to release the heavy burden off his chest.
"The first relative I came out to was my aunt Teri, a superior court judge in San Francisco. Her reaction surprised me. 'I've known you were gay for years,' she said. From that moment on I was comfortable in my own skin," Collins wrote in Sports Illustrated.
Collins sat down with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos and discussed his life in the closet. The Washington Wizards said breaking his engagement to Moos was a tough decision, but he knew it was the best.
"Calling off the wedding was obviously a tough decision but it was the right one because I knew I wasn't getting married for the right reasons," he said.
