Gov. Jared Polis is more than a politician. He is a public servant, father, son, and most recently, a husband — hats he wears while navigating Colorado through a pandemic. And for many in the LGBTQ+ community, he is a role model as the first out gay man in the nation to win a gubernatorial election, a feat he accomplished in 2018.
So where did Polis’s journey as a groundbreaking out figure begin? “I think it was when I was 21-ish,” says the 46-year-old about his coming-out story. “I actually came out to my sister first.”
In the not-so-distant past, it seemed almost inconceivable for a politician to be publicly out and win an election. For this writer, having a conversation with a sitting gay governor in his office seemed surreal. But after speaking with his family members, it became clear that his upbringing helped him embark on this history-making path.
“When he was young, I could tell that community service was important to him,” says Susan Polis Schutz, the governor’s mother — a filmmaker, poet, and businesswoman who sometimes sports green hair. “His coming-out story inspired me to become a filmmaker and create a movie that helps parents as their children come out.”
Schutz’s film, Anyone and Everyone, features parents across the United States talking about their shared experiences of having an LGBTQ+ child. Additionally, the production sheds light on the Polis family’s commitment to community service and evinces an empathy that helped the governor break so many glass ceilings. He’s also great at multitasking.
“He bought an entire school wardrobe for the kids while he was not taking care of disasters,” says Marlon Reis, Polis’s husband and Colorado’s first gentleman, who is also an animal rights activist and writer. He sees a different side of the governor than the public. “Jared is actually the cook in our family and likes to experiment in the kitchen,” Reis says. “I think we had [the Greek savory pie] spanakopita almost every day for a month once.”
Reis and Polis first met in Boulder, Colo., and have been together for 18 years. They have two children, ages 7 and 9. In fact, Polis was the first out gay parent in Congress; he represented Colorado’s Second District for five terms. Prior to his calling in government, Polis was prominent in business, making his fortune through online ventures that include a greeting card website and the floral company ProFlowers.
Polis is also a romantic. Last November, Reis was diagnosed with COVID-19. And while he was preparing to be hospitalized, Polis proposed to him. In September of this year, Polis married his longtime partner in a traditional Jewish ceremony and made history once again; it was the first time a sitting governor had a same-sex wedding.
In his first term as the Centennial State’s governor, Polis had his fair share of challenges. Colorado was one of the first states to report COVID-19 cases outside
