Clay Aiken has finally come out of the closet and confirmed that he is gay – to People magazine no less. Clay, 29, became a dad for the first time recently. His best friend Jaymes Foster was artificially inseminated and gave birth in August. The pair said they planned to raise their son together, though it was clear even before Clay came out that they were just good friends.

Perez Hilton has a copy of the October 4th edition of People. It has Clay on the cover, holding his son, and the headline “YES, I’M GAY. The Idol star opens up about his emotional decision to come out: ‘I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things.’”

Good for him. I’d say it’s about time – because it has been a long time – but everyone has to figure out what to share and when and how to do it. It’s an important process, and I’m glad for Clay that he’s finally comfortable being himself.

In the past, Clay has said that he doesn’t consider himself to be a very sexual person, and that still may be the case. He also admitted he’s never been in a romantic relationship with anyone. Clay worked with kids before American Idol, and something tells me his biggest priority will be his son. I seriously doubt we’ll see him living it up in clubs now that he’s open and free. Hopefully this will make his life even better.