The United States felt proud when Sally Ride flew into space. She was the third American woman after Valentina Tereshkova and Svetlana Savitskaya to go into space. Interestingly, Sally might be the first astronaut that changed the perspective of NASA. After ‘Sally Ride Gay’, news surfaced all over the internet. Well, the American astronaut joined NASA in 1978 and left the organization after almost ten years in 1987. Sadly, the young talent died in 2012 due to a chronic illness. Following her death, a shocking revelation surfaced that left the internet split. Since then, Sally Ride Gay speculations took a drastic turn. The tweet that gave birth to such claims went viral, and it seemed unbelievable. This is because the woman had been private about her relationship, but things were different from what they actually seemed. Let’s take a closer look at the gay speculations.
Who Was Sally Ride?
Sally Ride was born on May 26, 1951, in California. Her father served in the US Army during World War II and then went to Haverford College for a master’s degree. Later on, he became a political science professor at Santa Monica College. Talking about Sally, she loved playing tennis from a young age. She was even trained by a former tennis player Alice Marble. After completing schooling, she graduated in June 1968. Further, Ride studied advanced math at Santa Monica College as she wanted to become an astrophysicist. In fact, she went to the University of California and pursued quantum mechanics. Coming to her NASA career, Sally Ride was the only woman among the 20 applicants and later became one of the finalists. Initially, she served as a ground-based capsule communicator. After leaving NASA, the astronaut enrolled in the Stanford University Centre for International Security and Arms Control for a fellowship.
How Did Sally Ride Die?
During a public event in San Fransisco, Sally did not look well, and her friends noticed the same. She was then taken to the doctor, and an ultrasound was processed. It revealed that the American astronaut had a tumor in the abdomen. After that, a CT Scan confirmed that she had pancreatic cancer. Despite radiation therapy and chemotherapy, Sally Ride died on July 23, 2012. Post her death, Ride’s private relationship with Tam O’Shaughnessy was publicly revealed.
Sally Ride Gay: Was The Astronaut Married?
Unfortunately, a detailed report about Ride’s previous relationships is not available in the media. However, according to Wikipedia, she was romantically involved with her acquaintance Molly Tyson. Both of them gave tennis lessons together to earn money. Though it is unknown when they started their relationship, Sally and Molly broke up in 1975, marking the evidence for Sally Ride Gay rumors. After then, the former started dating her fellow student, Bill Colson. The couple even moved in together and began a live-in relationship. However, the pair decided to dissolve their relationship and got split in January 1979. The next name on the list was Robert Gibson, an astronaut candidate.
While Sally already had two relationships before starting a romance with Robert, the relationship again failed, and then she was reported to have encountered Steven Hawley. Ride started living together with him, and the pair considered themselves engaged. Interestingly, Colson knew Sally’s connection with the former, but Hawley was unaware of it. A few months later, they got married, and the pair was the third NASA astronaut couple. In 1985, Sally Ride began dating Tam O’Shaughnessy, who was a past acquaintance. As per the reports, both attended Stanford University.
The affair came to Hawley’s knowledge as well, and he already knew that his marriage was in danger. Despite such factors, he continued to serve her astronaut spouse duties. Moreover, during weekends, Ride visited Tam O’Shaughnessy. Not only this, several other ventures had called them partners. It was quite evident that Tam and Ride were more than just friends. Sadly, in June 1987, Sally and Hawley separated and signed the divorce papers.
Sally Ride Gay: Why She Stayed In The Closet For So Many Years?
It would not be wrong to say that Sally Ride was good at keeping secrets, as she never addressed Sally Ride Gay speculations. She was very private about her illness, treatment, and relationship. While there were a few guy names who had a romantic link with Ride, she came out as gay after her death. Although she was married to Steven Hawley, her relationship with Tam O’Shaughnessy can not be ignored. She had a romance with Tam, and their relationship duration was almost 27 years. The revelation came in a low-key way when Bear Ride, Sally’s sister, opened up about her sexual orientation. Hence Sally Ride Gay rumors were true. At the end of the obituary, Bear explained that the 61-year-old was always private about her personal life. With such details, Sally Ride became the first known LGBT astronaut. However, the surprising revelation became a hot subject of discussion as it was completely unexpected for NASA and for her admirers.
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