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Duncan James felt “petrified” about coming out.
The 43-year-old singer shot to fame in the boy band Blue and he's recalled being “frightened to come out” at the time.
Duncan – who came out as bisexual in 2009, before confirming he was gay in 2017 – said: “I think being in such a public boy band, with majority of fans being female, it was really hard for me to actually have the courage to come out because I was scared on so many different levels on so many different things. And to be honest, I didn't quite understand too much about my own sexuality at that time, I was just really confused.
“So I was kind of just like all over the place and what with the height of the fame and everything, it was just one of those things where I kind of buried it inside me and I didn't want to accept it and want to think about it.”
Duncan was in a “secret relationship with a guy” when he turned 30.
And at that moment, he thought it was a “matter of time” before his sexuality was revealed to the public.
The ‘All Rise' hitmaker eventually decided to “take the bull by the horns” and reveal the news himself.
He told the ‘Ry-Union' podcast: “I didn't know what was going to happen. And I was petrified. But to be fair, it was the best thing I ever did.
“And I think when you're living with one of those secrets inside you, and you're frightened to come out, I think everything is magnified on a great big level. And I was really, really, really scared that everything was gonna … my world was gonna come crashing down.
“But actually, in hindsight, it was never as bad as I thought it was going to be. And it wasn't a big deal. And when I came out, it was obviously like, a huge weight had been lifted.”
Listen to ‘Ry-Union', brought to you by Sky Bingo, on all podcast platforms.
