After almost two decades and 17 Billboard hits, country crooner Ty Herndon revealed a secret he's kept from fans for years.

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"I've dreamed about being in country music since I was 6 years old. It's my life, it's what I do, it's who I am, and I went to great lengths to cover up that fact to be to be a country star," he told Entertainment Tonight. "Today I get to tell the world that I'm an out, proud and happy gay man."

Rumors surrounding the singer's sexual orientation started in 1995 after an undercover male police officer claimed the singer exposed himself to him.

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"I wish I had really great recall or memory about that," Herndon said of the incident. "I think I had been up for like six days doing drugs the night and the day was really a huge blur for me."

Herndon was married twice before to two "amazing" women, whom he says "absolutely" knew he was gay.

Now, the 52-year-old "Lies I Told Myself" singer said he's in a serious relationship with a man he hopes will propose after the Entertainment Tonight interview airs.

"I have an awesome relationship that I've been in for a good number of years," Herndon said. "I love him very much and he loves me."