Jonathan Bailey reveals he was ‘heckled’ on street for holding hands with boyfriend

Jonathan Bailey has spoken about receiving homophobic abuse while out with an ex-boyfriend in London.

The Wicked actor, 36, said he was ‘heckled’ while holding hands with his ex in the street.

He told British Vogue: ‘I’ve always been a confident hand-holder in relationships. I had a boyfriend who wasn’t experienced at holding hands in public. We got heckled in London.’

Jonathan added: ‘But that kind of behaviour is now outweighed by the smiles you get.’

The Bridgerton star also spoke about his desire to have children at some point in the future and was researching adoption;

He said: ‘Yes, it’s such a privilege for a man, but I can’t bring children into my lifestyle now… I want to make sure I’m going to be present, I’m reading books on adoption. I might coparent with a woman, but I’m thinking it will be with a man.’

In 2022, the Bridgerton star spoke about the pressure to conceal his sexuality while starting out as an actor.

He told GQ Hype that hearing the callous advice another actor friend had been told during pilot season stuck with him, explaining: ‘At the time he was told, “There’s two things we don’t want to know: if you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay.”

‘All it takes is for one of those people in that position of power to say that, and it ripples through. So, yeah, of course I thought that. Of course I thought that in order to be happy I needed to be straight.’

However, Jonathan decided to speak publicly about his sexuality for the benefit of his own happiness and to no longer have to hide his relationships.

He explained: ‘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 get a part.’

Jonathan had previously told Sir Ian McKellen: ‘I was coming to terms with my own sexuality, I hadn’t necessarily hidden it, but I’ve never been not honest about it. 

‘It’s just there had never been a need to talk about it. There’s a sense of shame, I think, that’s palpable throughout gay men within the industry.’

In May, Jonathan ‘broke gay internet’ after sharing a sweaty post half marathon selfie on social media.

He was one of around 20,000 people to take part in Hackney Moves, London’s biggest and most popular half marathon.

And Jonathan was running the 13 miles in the aid of charity, fundraising for Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, which works with schools and young people across the UK.

He captioned his post: ‘THANK YOU for your continued knockout donations to @justlikeusuk and to everyone at @hackneymoves for making this a very special day for thousands of people.’

See the full feature in the January issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday December 17.

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