Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey has opened up about hiding his sexuality at the beginning of his career.
Back in 2020, Bailey stole the hearts of millions with his portrayal of the handsome Viscount Anthony Bridgerton on the hit Netflix series.
But unlike his character, who’s straight in the show, the 33-year-old identifies as a gay man in real life.
Although Bailey has been able to thrive as an openly gay actor, it wasn’t always an easy feat.
In a recent interview with GQ, the Broadchurch star discussed the challenges he faced early on in his career and the troubling advice a friend received during pilot season.
“There’s two things we don’t want to know: if you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay,” he recalled.
Bailey then said he clung to that piece of “advice” and remained in the closet “in order to be happy.”
“All it takes is for one of those people in that position of power to say that, and it ripples through,” he explained. “So, yeah, of course, I thought that. Of course, I thought that in order to be happy, I needed to be straight.”
Once Bailey entered his 20s, he realised he didn’t want to hide his identity any longer – which resulted in him coming out to his family and friends.
“I reached a point where I thought, f**k this. I’d much prefer to hold my boyfriend’s hand in public or be able to put my own face picture on Tinder and not be so concerned about that than getting a part,” he said.
Towards the end of his interview, Bailey revealed that playing Anthony Bridgerton also forced him to “think about love” more.
“You put your life experiences into [the work],” he explained.
Bailey’s interview comes a week before the second season of Bridgerton debuts on Netflix.
This time around, the young talent will be starring as the show’s leading man, with his sister Daphne Bassett (Phoebe Dynevor) falling into a supporting role.
Picking up where the series left off, Anthony is on the hunt for love, and in the process, he finds himself in a complicated dynamic between sisters Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and Edina Sharma (Charithra Chandran).
“We left [Anthony] at the end of the first season at a bit of a crossroads, so I’m looking forward to jumping in and discovering how he fares on the marriage market,” showrunner Chris Van Dusen said of what fans can expect from season two.
The new season of Bridgerton is set to drop on 25 March on Netflix.
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