*When Lydia Meredith sits down to share her story in the premiere episode of OWN’s new documentary series “Unlocked: Family Secrets,” she views it as more than a television moment—it’s a calling.
“Every time I tell my story, it’s an opportunity to help,” Meredith says. “My life has always been an open book. So I have never shied away from a camera or from a mic, where I have an opportunity to talk to people about my story.”
The six-part series, premiering Saturday, September 27, explores the hidden truths that have shaped families and the healing that comes from unearthing them. Meredith’s episode dives deeply into her experience navigating faith, family, and sexuality after her husband came out as gay, a revelation that reshaped her marriage and spiritual beliefs.
Meredith, author of “The Gay Preacher’s Wife,” says the journey began with optimism but took unexpected turns. “You start out being optimistic, and then life gives you the unexpected,” she reflects. “And you have to navigate whatever events happen that are unexpected.” Her book’s subtitle, “How My Gay Husband Deconstructed My Life and Reconstructed My Faith,” speaks to the transformative process she underwent.
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Faith played a central role in Meredith’s path forward. When faced with questions about sexuality and theology, she turned to education and scripture. “The first thing was, what does God really say about sexuality? I went back to school to study theology, to see what the Bible really said about being gay,” she explains.
Through her studies, Meredith confronted harmful interpretations of scripture often used against the LGBTQ+ community. “They call them clobber passages because they’re hitting people who are different over the head with whatever it is,” she says. “How in the world are you going to beat somebody to love God?”.
Her advocacy was also deeply personal—her son had come out as gay before her husband did. “Ain’t nobody going to mess with my son. Ain’t nobody going to bully my son. I don’t care what the Bible says,” Meredith declares.
Her husband’s decision to live openly was influenced by their son’s courage. “My ex-husband got the courage to come out because my son came out,” Meredith says.
The revelations forced Meredith to rebuild her faith and perspective. “I had to find the humanity in my son and in my ex-husband and forgive him,” she says. “Hey, he just being who he was supposed to be in the first place. He hiding and trying to be something he never intended to be in the first place because that’s what society told him he was supposed to be.”
Her academic work now focuses on these very issues. “This is my dissertation,” she explains. “It is on Christian rhetoric, discrimination, gay discrimination, and how Christian rhetoric informs gay discrimination.”
Meredith also stresses the importance of healing and openness for others dealing with painful family secrets. “Tell it, speak it out. Get a good therapist,” she advises. “If somebody else is out there with a family secret, you better tell it because that secret will take you down. You’re going to be doing dysfunctional things that hurt your body physically and mentally, holding on to a secret. You better let it go before it takes you down.”
By sharing her journey on “Unlocked: Family Secrets,” Meredith hopes viewers see that truth-telling can lead to transformation, even amid heartbreak.
“I’m just happy to share my story,” she says. “I’m happy to help other women who have experienced rejection, who have experienced unfaithfulness, and recover from that as a whole person.”
“Unlocked: Family Secrets” premieres Saturday, September 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on OWN, before moving to its regular timeslot of 8 p.m. ET/PT on October 4.
Watch our full conversation with Lydia below.
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