-
![Lori Jobe, left, sits with her wife, Leigh Thrasher, on a couch in their living room on Monday, May 6, 2024, at their home in Columbia. Jobe said the couple recently celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. “I think that, overall, joy is the fact that [I’m] able to live. Like, coming home to my wife. … Sometimes I find myself saying the word ‘wife,’ and I'm like, ‘I got a wife.’ It's so exciting. It's like, I can't hardly believe that that's real,” Jobe said. “I figured I would turn out to be a straight lady at some point, and I think 12 year old me would be really relieved that I'm not. I think they would be really happy that, finally, we made it to being ourselves. I don't think I could have pictured the life that I've got, and being married. As a 12 year old, I wouldn't have ever thought that would happen in my lifetime and to come that far from hiding in the closet. … Twelve year old me would be stunned, and, I think, impressed a little bit.”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/eeee4c7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F6d%2Fc31a37534aeeb22f08e687b27f3f%2F20240506-bas-queer-joy-lori-jobe-0025.jpg)
Lori Jobe is a lesbian who spent much of her life trying “to be straight.” She spoke about how her two daughters played a role in her coming out and coming to terms with her sexuality. -
Still thinking of what to do this Sunday for Mother’s Day? How about interviewing your mom? That’s a suggestion from veteran public radio producer and…
© 2025 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
![Lori Jobe, left, sits with her wife, Leigh Thrasher, on a couch in their living room on Monday, May 6, 2024, at their home in Columbia. Jobe said the couple recently celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. “I think that, overall, joy is the fact that [I’m] able to live. Like, coming home to my wife. … Sometimes I find myself saying the word ‘wife,’ and I'm like, ‘I got a wife.’ It's so exciting. It's like, I can't hardly believe that that's real,” Jobe said. “I figured I would turn out to be a straight lady at some point, and I think 12 year old me would be really relieved that I'm not. I think they would be really happy that, finally, we made it to being ourselves. I don't think I could have pictured the life that I've got, and being married. As a 12 year old, I wouldn't have ever thought that would happen in my lifetime and to come that far from hiding in the closet. … Twelve year old me would be stunned, and, I think, impressed a little bit.”](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/edf4611/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1750x975+0+0/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7d%2F6d%2Fc31a37534aeeb22f08e687b27f3f%2F20240506-bas-queer-joy-lori-jobe-0025.jpg)
