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Your own funeral is not exactly something you want to be planning while you’re still alive and kicking.
But a group of friends turned what is meant to be a sombre day into one of true celebration as they marked the ‘death’ of their pal’s heterosexuality during her coming out party last month. You can watch her ‘straightness’ being laid to rest here:
Nicole Maynard from Los Angeles, California, recently came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community after sparking up a romance with a woman at a 4 July party earlier this year, and her friends had the perfect way to celebrate her new-found bisexuality.
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Nicole’s best friend, Amanda Brown, wanted to ensure the 27-year-old’s coming out experience was a positive one, so threw a ‘funeral’ for Nicole on 1 September after she came out as bisexual.
The 25 guests invited, including her girlfriend, were instructed to wear black and decorated the party with black balloons, a banner which read ‘RIP straight Nicole’ and a tombstone, while her bestie even read out a eulogy dedicated to her.
Amanda reflected on memories of ‘straight Nicole’ while she recited Justin Bieber lyrics (admit it, he was almost every girl’s first crush) and recited how she ‘passed’ away - sharing the story of Nicole’s first gay kiss.
Nicole said: "I have always been the token 'straight' friend in the friend group and then after a break up with a man this year, I finally felt ready to explore my bisexuality.
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"The idea of 'RIP Straight Nicole' took off, and then I decided there was no better way to celebrate my coming out than a funeral for my straight self.”
After her close friends took care of all the finer details on the day, Nicole felt ‘so loved’ that she was actually reduced to tears.
"The funeral was everything I could have hoped for and more. The effort put into decor and the eulogy made me feel so loved, I actually ended up crying,” Nicole admitted.
"My friends were so excited to celebrate me - everyone committed to wearing all black, and I got so much love throughout the night.
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"I have never felt luckier to have the friends that I do. My girlfriend was also there, and it was her first time meeting most of my friends, which was also very exciting."
Nurse Amanda and medical student Nicole have been best friends since they met in college nine years ago.
Amanda said: "Me and all my friends are gay and have been out for a long time. She's always been the token straight friend which has been funny.
"We decided to have a party, we thought it was a funny idea."
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Although the funeral theme might on the surface seem like a serious one, the day was filled with ‘light-hearted’ moments and ‘pride’ for their close friend who was able to share her coming out story.
"It was funny and light-hearted and at the end, we said how proud we were and [that] we hope she feels welcome,” Amanda added.
"A lot of us have traumatic coming out stories so we're all super happy for her.”
Rest in peace straight Nicole. Long live her bisexuality.
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and MediaTopics: Sex and Relationships, LGBTQ+, TikTok