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Updated 13:38 9 Nov 2023 GMTPublished 13:37 9 Nov 2023 GMT

Wrexham star reveals father came out as gay after leaving wife and three children

He was able to bond with Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney about it

Joe Harker

Featured Image Credit: Disney+

Topics: Sport, Celebrity, LGBTQ, Rob McElhenney, Wrexham FC, Football

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker

Wrexham AFC star Ollie Palmer spoke about his father coming out as gay on a recent episode of Welcome to Wrexham.

During an episode of the Disney+ documentary the footballer opened up about his father leaving his mother when he was young.

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Palmer explained on Welcome to Wrexham that his parents separated when he was a child and a few months afterwards his dad Andy came out as gay to the family.

Andy said 'it was a very difficult time for me personally' as he struggled with the conundrum of 'how do I go about telling my three children, who I love to bits, that daddy isn't going to be around anymore'.

Palmer's mum Sue said she had thought she had 'a great marriage' and was 'confident about the future' but when her husband left it 'blew my world apart' and she was 'devastated'.

Ollie Palmer spoke about the moment in his childhood when dad Andy (right) came out as gay.

Arthur Edwards-WPA Pool/Getty Images

Palmer told the Disney+ documentary that it was 'a really f**king hard day' when his father moved out, saying he remembered hearing his parents arguing.

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However, he said his relationship with his parents was now closer than ever and after he was signed by Wrexham in 2022 he introduced dad Andy and his boyfriend to club owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

Palmer found a kindred spirit in McElhenney, who revealed he'd been through something very similar to the Wrexham footballer in his life.

The It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia star told Welcome to Wrexham that he was in 'the same position as Ollie' as his parents split up when he was a child and his mum went on to marry another woman.

McElhenney said that both he and the Wrexham footballer could 'look back on our parents and recognise how much courage it took' for them to come out.

Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney said he went through something similar and could 'recognise how much courage' it took.

Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

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"My parents got divorced when I was eight or nine," McElhenney explained on Welcome to Wrexham about the similarities his situation had with Palmer's.

"And as adults we can both look back on our parents and recognise how much courage that it took for them to do exactly what they did."

Palmer joined Wrexham part-way through the 2021-22 season, moving from League One side AFC Wimbledon down to the National League club.

He quickly became a goalscoring sensation for the team, with his goals helping fire them to promotion and League Two.

Since joining Wrexham he's formed bonds with the club's celebrity owners, including his shared experience with McElhenney over similar family situations and being Reynolds' go-to guy to check that none of the Wrexham players had died during their celebratory trip to Las Vegas earlier this year.