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Woman comes out to her entire family in touching video

(via YouTube)

Kelly DiPaola surprised her traditional Italian family this past Christmas Eve when she came out and shared that she was gay, recording her elaborate coming out process in a touching video.

"Merry Christmas. Surprise. I'm gay," reads a sign she holds up during a family gathering shown in the video. "No really," the back confirms.

The big reveal also involved DiPaola creating shirts for each of her family members, with a personal note attached, reports BuzzFeed.

"Because I have more faith in the love in your heart, justness of your mind, and goodness in your soul, please wear this shirt in support of me and be my ally," the note reads.

Despite being out to her friends for three years, the mid-twenties New Jersey woman couldn't find the appropriate time nor the words to reveal the secret she had been hiding all these years to her family.

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DiPaola was petrified her family's prejudices would stop them from accepting her for who she was. She describes her family as very Catholic, critical and intimidating -- and explains her fears to BuzzFeed:

Over that time I dated, fell in love, fell out of love, had my heart broken and recovered. I graduated from college, gained a brother-in-law, made new friends, and lost a few old ones. I matured. I realized what truly is important in life and began to appreciate more deeply. I finally accepted myself. But even with all of this enlightenment, one thing remained the same. I couldn’t seem to find the right words or perfect timing to tell those in my life the one secret I’d been hiding: that I was a lesbian.

DiPaola had a change of heart last Thanksgiving when her aunt passed away and she witnessed her family's incredible support and loyalty.

"I was suddenly certain that their love for me far outweighed any prejudices they may possess," she explains, adding that she didn't give her family enough credit.

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It turns out that DiPaola had nothing to fear.

After making her announcement, she is bombarded with cheers, tears and loving hugs.

"Their reaction was everything I wanted...Be brave, say what you want to say, and never underestimate the power of love," she writes in the description of her YouTube video.

And despite being most worried about the reaction of her grandfather, she says "I shouldn't have been." He said, "Kell, I couldn't love you any less if tried."