Man goes viral with his defiant, proud message about Black queer love

A social media user has spoken to Queerty about going viral with a post celebrating his love for his boyfriend—and what happened afterward.

Taylor Nevels, 31, is based in Los Angeles, California. He works in public policy and administration. Last month, he posted a tweet that showed photos of him and his boyfriend, Stephen Phillips, 29.

Taylor was responding to a request for men to share pics of their boyfriends. He posted a couple of sweet photos of himself and Stephen to mark their first anniversary together. The caption read “10/5/24 till infinity”.

However, Taylor, a regular church-goer, worked for a faith-based nonprofit. Within hours of posting his tweet, acquaintances reached out and suggested he take it down. They predicted it might cause him issues at his work or church.

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Taylor decided to change his page to private. However, upon reflection, he realized he didn’t want to hide his love. He made his page public again the next day and added a defiant message.

“I made my page private bc ppl from my job and church started seeing this and I panicked . But now imma just say f*ck it!”, he said.

“Black love (in all depictions) deserves to be shared and cherished publicly, without fear of consequence. Me and my man till infinity!”

I made my page private bc ppl from my job and church started seeing this and I panicked . But now imma just say f*ck it!

Black love (in all depictions) deserves to be shared and cherished publicly, without fear of consequence. Me and my man till infinity! https://t.co/ixy0Q0r15X— Dolla Tree Big Sean (@taylrmadee) October 7, 2025

The internet reacts

The post received over 42,000 likes and hundreds of comments. It no doubt would have received more comments, but Taylor limited who could reply because… well, why give people the opportunity to post negativity, right?

Many reshared the tweet, though, praising the images and wishing the couple all the best. Others spoke of their own experiences as Black, queer people who struggled with their faith or church.

Both Taylor and Stephen tell Queerty they’ve been out to their respective families since around 2018. Stephen works in privacy law, and his workplace has always been supportive.

“We met in West Hollywood, leaving a party,” says Stephen via a Zoom call, about meeting Taylor. “We approached each other outside. After the party ended, that was the first conversation that ignited a whirlwind of love.”

On deciding to make his photos public again, Taylor says, “I didn’t even tell Stephen that I was gonna make the page public again. But I thought about it, and I just had an overwhelming sense and belief that love deserves to be celebrated out loud. And that I didn’t want to shrink myself to make other people happy or to appease other people.”

Summoned to a meeting

However, as he feared, his post prompted repercussions. Taylor declines to name his church-affiliated employer, but he says the day after he reposted his images, “I got a message from our senior leadership asking me to have a meeting. And in the back of my mind, I figured what it was going to be about, so I drafted my letter of resignation just in case.”

He says the subsequent meeting was a “very genuine, open and honest conversation. There was no shouting at me or calling names. They said things that I already knew … that they have a certain mission, certain values that they uphold and that they believe, which I, of course, I’ve known my entire life. So after that conversation, I politely placed my letter of resignation on the desk. I didn’t want to shrink myself anymore.”

Taylor says he wanted to exercise his freedom “to live boldly and in my truth.”

It’s Stephen’s birthday in January. Taylor was planning to post about it and talk more about his partner online. Because of this, he was already planning to leave his role.

“I was preparing to resign from my role at the faith-based organization in December anyway. I just didn’t expect to resign early in October.”

Taylor started another position last week with a company he interviewed for back in August.

He has continued to frequent his church. However, he says he now finds himself with an opportunity to see what else is out there: “To visit and explore more progressive churches and progressive faith-based spaces.”

“Your love is not a mistake”

Taylor and Stephen’s story highlights the difficulties many queer people of faith experience in finding a welcoming space to worship. Does Taylor have advice for any other church-goers struggling to accept their sexuality?

“Knowing the history of the church, and especially knowing the history of the church in the Black community and how sexuality is viewed for Black men and Black people in general, I would say to every person that is on their own journey of exploration and truth, that your love is not a mistake. Your truth is something that should not be hidden.

“I truly believe that we all deserve the right and the freedom to live as who we are fully, without having to hide certain pieces of ourselves.”

He says that when his tweet unexpectedly went viral last month, it felt “like a rug was pulled out from under me. Because I didn’t expect any of this to happen. But I honestly — as a man of faith — believe it was ordained by God, and was very intentional.

“So I’m excited to start creating spaces that support the belief that there is a place for everyone in the kingdom of God. Spaces that invite everyone in and remind them, ‘Hey, you can be who you are, you can love who you are. And there will still be a place for you in the kingdom of God and in heaven when we all close our eyes’.”

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