Though many people long suspected (or secretly already knew), ‘The Big Bang Theory‘ star Jim Parsons has now made his sexual orientation official public knowledge. In an interview with The New York Times, the actor quietly revealed that yes, he is in fact gay.

While documenting both Parsons’ previous stage work in ‘The Normal Heart’ and his upcoming lead in Broadway’s ‘Harvey’ — a role made iconic by Jimmy Stewart in the 1944 film — writer Patrick Healy nonchalantly notes,

‘The Normal Heart’ resonated with him on a few levels: Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship, and working with an ensemble again onstage was like nourishment, he said.

That’s as far as it went. The Emmy-winning CBS star and theater vet didn’t elaborate or reveal who his partner is. But as short as it was, the revelation is being warmly received by the gay community, with Out.com noting that like many other GLBT celebrities, Parsons “has lived as a gay man in his private life, but in his professional public life he skirted the issue.”

Those who keep such things a secret, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto once wrote, have become “a shrinking group as busting out becomes the honorable — and sensible — thing to do.”

“Thankfully,” he added, “it doesn’t warrant such screaming anymore.”

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