Supergirl's Chyler Leigh Opens Up About Her Sexuality: 'It's Been a Long and Lonely Road'

Chyler Leigh can relate to her Supergirl character in more ways than one.

Leigh, 38, opened up about her sexuality in a recent post on the Creating Change website, saying the coming out story of her Supergirl character Alex Danvers helped the actress learn to fully embrace and accept her authentic self.

"When I was told that my character was to come out in season 2, a flurry of thoughts and emotions flew through and around me because of the responsibility I personally felt to authentically represent Alex's journey," she began the post.

Leigh said she felt a connection to the words and emotions her character used when revealing that she was gay.

"What I didn't realize was how the scene where she finally confessed her truth would leap off the pages of the script and genuinely become a variation of my own. IRL," she continued. "My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest each take we filmed, every time presenting another opportunity to get those honest words out of my mouth. Though they don't exactly match my personal dialogue, the heart behind it surely did."

During season 2 of Supergirl, Alex came out as gay after falling in love with Detective Maggie Sawyer (Floriana Lima).

"From the director, the press, the media, the cast, and the fans, I'm still told that it was the most realistic coming out scene they'd ever witnessed," she continued. "And to steal from Alex's words, that's because there's some truth to what she said about me."

But while Leigh said she was proud to represent a member of the LGBTQ+ community on screen, she said the episode resulted in her losing support from some friends.

"I don’t hold a grudge towards the negative response, because as I said, we all have had a hard time in one way or another with acceptance (whatever the subject may be) whether towards ourselves or others," she said.

Leigh, who married Nathan West in 2002, said she and her husband are continuing to discover new "depths" of themselves together.

"It’s been a long and lonely road for both my husband and myself but I can wholeheartedly say that after all these years, he and I are still discovering the depths of ourselves and each other, but throughout our journey we've learned to be proud of who we are, no matter the cost," she said.

Supergirl airs Sundays (9 p.m. ET) on CW.