Sha-la-la-la. Family Ties and Lifetime channel star Meredith Baxter is out of the closet. The 62-year-old actress, who once played Elyse Keaton on the ’80s TV series Family Ties, has revealed that she is a lesbian.

“I’m a lesbian mom,” Baxter told People magazine. “I feel like I’m being honest for the first time.”  Baxter said she started dating women several years ago, but before that, being gay “had never crossed my mind.”

In an interview on NBC’s Today show, Baxter said “I am a lesbian, and it was a later-in-life recognition of that fact.”  Baxter went on to say she has been in a relationship with her girlfriend Nancy Locke, a general contractor, for four years.  “Some people are saying, were you living a lie? And, you know, the truth is, not at all. This has only been in the past seven years.” she said.

Baxter has been married three times, including to her ’70s TV series co-star in Bridget Loves Bernie, David Birney. She is the mother of five children. The actress also said she is “extraordinarily happy” and the support from her family and friends was immediate and unqualified.

Baxter said three failed marriages led to several difficult years in her life.   “I was never comfortable with myself,” she said. “That doesn’t mean I was questioning.” Her son Peter told People, “I just couldn’t stop smiling [when she told me] because she finally figured it out.”

In 2009 The National Enquirer published a piece about Baxter’s sexuality, which was later picked up by blogger Perez Hilton. Baxter was seen on a lesbian cruise with a female friend, which led to speculation on whether or not she was a lesbian or simply enjoying the cruise as a platonic hetrosexual friend.

Baxter’s marriage to David Birney ended in 1989, however she was still credited as Meredith Baxter Birney, a name still commonly associated with her by the general public. In 1995 she married actor and screenwriter Michael Blodgett; they divorced in 2000.

Baxter’s latest work includes reprising the voice of Elyse Keaton on an episode of Fox’s animated hit, Family Guy, in 2009.