Cassandra Peterson, a.k.a Elvira, Mistress of the dark, revealed in her memoir “Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark” that she has been in a relationship with a woman for nineteen years.
Now 70, Peterson opens up about how the relationship began, and how she worried that sharing this part of her life could’ve alienated some fans that heralded her as a “heterosexual” sex symbol in her career. She ultimately admitted to fears of losing her fan base if she were to be honest about her sexuality.
“It wouldn’t have mattered to me that people knew about our relationship, but I felt I needed to protect Elvira in order to keep my career alive. Elvira has always had a thing for men, and men have had a thing for her, so I worried that if I announced I was no longer living the ‘straight life’ my fans would feel lied to, call me a hypocrite, and abandon me.” Peterson admitted in her memoir.
She began the relationship with Teresa T. Weirson, who started as her personal trainer, then became a close friend and personal assistant, after she showed up at Peterson’s doorstep with “nowhere to go”, and the two noticed their chemistry after living together for a short time. Friends and family had known privately that the two were in a relationship, but this is the first time Peterson has talked publicly about it.
“After coming home from a movie, I told her goodnight and suddenly felt compelled to kiss her- on the mouth. As shocked as she was, I was even more surprised,” Peterson says of her first romantic encounter with Weirson.
The relationship began shortly after Peterson's 2003 divorce from Mark Pierson, with whom she shared a daughter, Sadie.
She wrote in her memoir about the relationship: "For the first time in my life, I'm with someone who makes me feel safe, blessed, and truly loved."
Peterson then went on Tamron Hall's talk show and revealed the first picture of her and her partner as a couple.
"It's scary and exciting, but I am also relieved, and so is my partner. Holding in secrets all the time, you know, it gives you gas," she joked, talking about how she felt about finally telling the public about her relationship.
