'Elvira, Mistress of the Dark,' comes out and reveals 19-year relationship with another woman

Cassandra Peterson, better known as Elvira, "Mistress of the Dark," recently came out in her new memoir and revealed she has been in a relationship with a woman for 19 years.

The 70-year-old has chronicled her life in a tell-all "Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark," that hit the shelves on Tuesday, September 21. The international cult icon wrote that she fell in love with her female trainer "T" nearly two decades ago, but kept it hidden from her fans as she "felt the need to protect Elvira in order to keep (her) career alive."

The duo met soon after Peterson had ended her 25-year marriage to Mark Pierson, while Teresa "T" Wierson had called it quits from a long-term partner. The horror hostess recalled meeting her future partner at the Hollywood Gold's Gym and initially thinking that she was a "bad boy." She wrote in her book, "Often, when I was doing my preworkout warm-up on the treadmill, I couldn't help noticing one particular trainer — tan, tattooed, and muscular — stalking across the gym floor, knit cap pulled so low over his long brown hair that it nearly covered his eyes."

"Dark and brooding, he gave off such intense energy that when he crossed the enormous gym floor, the waters parted and people stopped in their tracks to stare," she added as per Just Jared.

The actress later realised in the ladies locker room that Teresa was a "bad girl" rather than a "bad boy," and they formed a strong bond of friendship, which ultimately turned into a romance after a dramatic night where the fitness trainer showed up at Peterson's door with "a trash bag full of her belongings."

"I think I was even more surprised. What the hell was I doing? I'd never been interested in women as anything other than friends. I felt so confused. This just wasn't me! I was stunned that I'd been friends with her for so many years and never noticed our chemistry. I soon discovered that we connected sexually in a way I'd never experienced," Peterson detailed about the experience of finding her sexuality.

The gothic goddess added that she is still concerned about how her fans would react to her relationship with Wierson, who is now her personal assistant. "Would my fans hate me for not being what they expected me to be? I'm very aware that there will be some who will be disappointed and maybe even angry, but I have to live with myself, and at this point in my life, I've got to be truthful about who I am," she wrote.