Top Chef's Travis Masar: How I Came Out

Growing up in a religious family rural La Junta, Colorado, Travis Masar and his father Martin had a seemingly picture-perfect father-son bond: they often talked about cooking, camping, fishing and the upcoming hunting seasons. But on tonight's episode of Top Chef Travis made a big revelation about his personal life: he had never opened up to his father about being gay.

While his mother knew that he was out, Travis says that he always had a "different relationship" with his father, Martin, and it "was something we never talked about."

That's changed in recent weeks: Travis recently shared with his dad that he's out of the closet and has a boyfriend, Kent, whom he's been dating for four years. "After telling my dad, I guess it was kind of a relief," he tells the Dish now. "It was never a weight on my shoulders, per se, just more of, 'When am I going to do it?' I was always searching for the right moment, the right topic to lead into it, the right scenario and it just never happened, so I just did it."

Travis is happy to report that his confession to his father went well. "It was a great feeling," he says. "Was it a shock to him? Oh yeah. But he is a child clinical psychologist so he has dealt with this kind of thing his entire adult life. I mean, I am his son, so some might say it would be different but then in our opinion that's like a preacher not listening to his own sermon."

Despite being raised in a Catholic family, Travis says his father—and the rest of his family—are supportive of his sexual orientation. "My dad says it's my path, and as long as I am happy, he will support whatever path I choose to take in life."

In fact, Travis has brought his boyfriend Kent home to meet the Masar clan. "My mother really likes him," he says. "And Dad, once he found out, thought he was nice and said something like, 'You guys look good together,' in his weird, around-the-box kind of way. They were super supportive."