Clay Aiken recently looked back on the challenges he faced when coming out in 2008 and how far society has come since then.

The “American Idol” alum first revealed his sexuality as a gay man on the cover of People Magazine in 2008, after giving birth to his son Parker in August of that year.

“It was the first decision I made as a father,” said Aiken, explaining his decision to come out at the time. “I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things. I wasn’t raised like that and I won’t raise a child to do something like that.”

In an interview with People on December 10, Aiken reflected on how much speculation about his sexuality has shaped his public persona. The publication in 2008 provided clarity but came at a cost, he said.

“It was a big deal at the time,” he said, recalling the impact it had on his Broadway appearance in “Spamalot” at the time.

Clay Aiken’s 15-year-old son looks just like him in his first TV appearance

“For the first four months I was there, the show was sold out, standing room only. You can actually look at ticket sales the week after the cover came out,” he explained, referring to his 2008 People cover. “It sold very well until the week after the cover came out, ticket sales dropped. ‘Spamalot’ was eventually canceled a few months later.”

“We live in a completely different time,” he added. “I lost maybe 50% of the fan base.”

Despite the setbacks, Aiken said he has no regrets and is grateful that the world has changed for the better.

“A lot of people who are coming out now are seeing increased popularity because of it… That’s mind-blowing to me because it’s the opposite of what happened when I came out,” he said. “But it does mean that there is progress and that we are on the right path as a country.”

After placing second on American Idol, Aiken toured the United States and made his Broadway debut. He was also the first “American Idol” alum to have a single debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Last month, Aiken returned to music after more than a decade with his new holiday album, “Christmas Bells Are Ringing.”

Clay Aiken recalls losing “50 percent” of his fans after he first appeared on goodmorningamerica.com in 2008