Ty Herndon: My life feels open

Ty Herndon's "life feels open" now.

The 52-year-old country music hitmaker publicly came out as gay last week, after living in the closet for the majority of his career. And it seems it was the most liberating move he ever made.

"My life feels open," the singer told People magazine, to whom he revealed the news initially. "It feels free, like the weight of the world's been lifted off my shoulders."

It seems much of the music community was eager to support their friend and colleague following his announcement. The star received well wishes from the likes of Ricky Martin, Kristin Chenoweth, LeAnn Rimes and Lance Bass.

"[The positive reaction] just blew my mind," Ty gushed.

But he's not off the hook yet. His mother has set him to work writing out individual notes to those who gave their support.

"My mom says I need to send thank-you cards, so I've got a long list!" he laughed.

Ty opened up about his news last week. He spoke about his relationship with a man named Matt, and confirmed his ex-wives were entirely aware of his sexuality.

The singer had a concert on Monday in Nashville, which he says was a special one for him.

"My knees were shaking!" Ty told the magazine. "Walking out on the Grand Ole Opry stage as an open, free, happy, godly gay man is not something I thought I'd see in my lifetime… We knew that history was being made up there, and it was humbling."

But this isn't the end of the road for Ty. He wants to stand up for the rights of others who don't feel comfortable making their sexuality known.

"All that keeps running through my mind is: It's time to get to work," he added. "There's so much work to be done in the South with all these kids that are struggling so greatly with finding love and support and finding a place to go to feel loved and supported."