Jay Loves Ricky Schroder!

My first gay crush was Ricky Schroder!

Watching him on "Silver Spoons", and seeing him in Tiger Beat and other teen magazines, I formed a huge crush on him, along with a million other tweens.

In the 5th grade, my teacher gave us something fun to do, which was writing an essay on your favorite idol from sports, to singers, to everyday people.

I wrote two essays about Ricky:

One was for school, and the other saying how I REALLY felt about him. The teacher had the class read our essays aloud as we cheered each other on. My turn came and my teacher read aloud, "He's so cute. I want to hug and kiss him..." Yup, I'd submitted the wrong essay!

For a short while, I was known as Mrs. Schroeder to friends and they'd laugh and giggle. My teacher, Mrs. Ashley, pulled me aside and said my essay was well written with expression and devotion, and she enjoyed having me in her class.

This crush was completely taboo to speak of at the dinner table, as far as I was concerned. But it was obvious to my family because of the Teen Beat posters taped to my walls, next to my Culture Club posters.

Jay - San Francisco, CA
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Inspired by the "Born This Way Blog" - BornThisWayBlog.com

Bobby Loves Ricky Schroder!

My first gay crush was Ricky Schroder.

The first time I saw Ricky was in "The Last Flight of Noah's Ark" in 1980.

I was only 9, but I remember being jealous of his friend in the movie, and I wanted desperately to be his best friend.

I didn't understand my feelings, but I know I was obsessed with wanting to know more about him.

I made my parents rent "The Champ" just so I could watch more of the boy with the blonde hair and the bright blue eyes.

By the time Ricky was in "Silver Spoons" in 1982,
my crush had developed to the point that I would hide my sister's Tiger Beat magazines, so I could look at the pictures of Ricky, alone by myself.

I still hadn't figured out exactly why I wanted to know as much about him as possible, as I stared at every picture and read about his "likes/dislikes." But I did know that these feelings were to be kept hidden, especially from my older brother.

I feel like I grew up with Ricky, and by the time I recognized this crush on him during "Silver Spoons," I started to come to terms with the idea that I was gay. While I wouldn't come out to my family for many years, I'll always remember my first crush.

Bobby - West Hollywood, CA
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Inspired by the "Born This Way Blog" - BornThisWayBlog.com