Randy Florke, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney's husband, spoke exclusively with News 12 about his personal journey as a gay man through a decades-long fight for equal rights as well as his new lecture series.

Florke moved from Iowa to New York City when he was 18 years old. Shortly after he moved to New York, the AIDS epidemic hit.

"Sean, my husband, is my fourth relationship. I had three relationships prior to him and all 3 died of AIDS,” says Florke.

News 12 sat down exclusively with 57-year-old from the Cold Spring home he shares with the congressman and their children for a candid look at his life and how he says being part of the LGBTQ community has changed over the years.

"We had been through so much that it allowed us to tackle on big things,” says Florke.

Most notably, the legalization of gay marriage in 2011, and in 2014, his own marriage.

"There's validation as a human being when you say ‘This is my husband.’ It's like yes, I'm validated. Our relationship is validated,” he says.

Florke is now sharing his personal journey in a series of public conversations from prisons to colleges, given alongside one of his closest friends and mentor, Minnesota's first lady Gwen Walz.