( CNN ) -- `` Family Ties '' actress Meredith Baxter made the media rounds Wednesday confirming the rumors that she is a lesbian . `` It was a later in life recognition , '' the actress explained to Matt Lauer on the `` Today '' show Wednesday . The National Enquirer recently ran a story about Baxter being spotted on a lesbian cruise through the Caribbean with a `` female friend , '' which was then picked up by celebrity blogs . As a result , the 62-year-old decided to tell her fans herself . `` I did n't want some tabloid to take the story and make it up , '' Baxter said in the interview . `` I wanted it to be in my own words . '' Baxter was also interviewed on Sirius XM Radio 's `` The Frank DeCaro Show . '' Coming out was a difficult thing for the quiet actress to do . She told Lauer on `` Today '' that she 's always `` lived a very private life . To come out and disclose stuff is very antithetical '' to who she is . Baxter told DeCaro that she knew she could be outed when she went on the cruise with her partner , Nancy Locke , but she went anyway . `` We live a very open life at home , '' she said . `` Anyone who 's a friend of mine , anyone who knows and cares about me knows . It 's no secret that I 'm gay , but it has been to the greater world . `` The reason I 'm here [ on the show ] is because I 'm saying , yes , I 'm a lesbian . '' Baxter also told People magazine that she has been in a four-year relationship with Locke , who works as a building contractor . Baxter has been dating women for the past seven years , and `` the thought of being gay never crossed my mind , '' she said . The actress was married three times before , during which she `` was never comfortable with herself , '' she told People . Now , she feels like she 's `` being honest for the first time . '' Baxter has also come clean to her five kids , according to People . Her 25-year-old son Peter was all smiles . He told the magazine that he `` just could n't stop smiling , because she finally figured it out . ''
The National Enquirer first revealed that Meredith Baxter had been on a lesbian cruise . In the article, published in December, she said she was "devastated" to learn of her husband's affair and called it "a terrible mistake". She has been in a relationship with partner Nancy Locke for four years . She feels like she 's being honest for the first time .