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Ben Aldridge could “breathe easier” after he came out as gay.

The 37-year-old actor – who was raised as an evangelical Christian – announced his sexuality to the world on f National Coming Out Day in October 2020 and reflected that he “underestimated how significant” the move would be to him at the time.

Speaking on the ‘Just For Variety’ podcast, he said: ““Oh you’re going to make me cry. It sounds dramatic, but I could just breathe easier. I underestimated how significant that was to me. I really did. I thought, it’s not that I’d played it down, but I didn’t know what it would do to me physically. And just for days afterward I was like, ‘I needed that so badly. I wasn’t aware of how much I needed to do that and how much I’d potentially hung onto, conveniently hidden behind. It felt so powerful to be able to stand alongside and be part of my community.”

Ben previously admitted that coming out was not something he thought would ever be “possible” because he feared it may limit his career choices.

He said: “I’d been taught and shown throughout my 20s that [coming out] might cost me work and might cost me jobs and I might not get hired to play straight or it just might work against me. It just didn’t feel like something that was possible.”

Upon disclosing his sexuality, the ‘Knock at the Cabin’ star – who is currently thought to be single – admitted that he was “incredibly proud” to be a gay man but admitted that his journey had been a “long one.”

He said: “The journey to pride was a long one for me. I love the LGBTQ+ community and am incredibly proud and thankful to be a part of it. So much won. So much more to fight for.”