A man whose fiancé took his own life after his religious family refused to accept his sexuality is pleading with religious leaders to help improve relationships between LGBT+ children and their parents.

Nazim Mahmood hid his relationship for 13 years. Two days after coming out to his parents, he took his own life.

His death led partner Matt Mahmood-Ogston to consider killing himself too.

As a result, Matt set up a charity to help others in a similar situation.

The Naz and Matt Foundation aims to “prevent any religion from coming between the unconditional love of a parent and child”.

Matt has written an open letter to religious leaders in the UK, pleading with them for to help improve relationships between LGBT+ children and their parents.

‘Treated him like a disease’ Recent research by Maru/Blue, commissioned by the charity, suggests that nearly two in three LGBT+ people from religious backgrounds struggle with suicidal thoughts, anxiety and depression as a result of not being accepted by their parents.

The couple met in 2001 but Matt says Naz feared coming out to his parents, worried there would be consequences.

In 2014, after returning to his home city of Birmingham from the couple’s London home to celebrate Eid, Naz was confronted about his sexuality for the first time and decided to tell his family he was in love with a man.

“Their reaction was to tell him to go to a psychiatrist [to be ‘cured’ of being gay]. They treated him like he was a disease who needed to be removed from that family,” Matt said.