Photo: Dylan Perlot for GAY TIMES Magazine

Gus Kenworthy opened up about what it was like to maintain the “facade” of being straight prior before coming out.

The Olympic athlete shared that he was gay in October 2015 and has since frequently used his platform to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.

During an interview with The Guardian, Kenworthy was asked about his feelings on rumours he was dating singer Miley Cyrus at the time.

“I was trying to keep up this facade I was straight,” he told the outlet. “It sounds grimy but there’s also a culture around those events where you’re pulling girls at parties.”

The 30-year-old shared that getting involved in this quickly took a toll on him, especially once he had been with a man sexually for the first time.

He added: “I was sleeping with women and really trying so hard to fit this other narrative.

“But I cried after sleeping with women sometimes. It certainly was never the same after I slept with a man.”

Kenworthy will be joining Team Great Britain for his third Olympic appearance at the Winter Games in Beijing this year.

It will mark the American Horror Story star’s first time representing the country after previously competing on Team USA, with his eligibility to do so coming from the fact he was born in England and has an English mother.

Kenworthy covers the February 2022 issue of GAY TIMES Magazine, where he discussed what it was like to come seven years ago.

“It’s scary being the first [to come out] – I was the first in my entire sport – but a lot of my fears were unfounded,” he explains. “And the amount of support that it opened up for me, especially from the [LGBTQ+] community, is so much greater than I could have ever imagined.”

To read Gus Kenworthy’s full interview with GAY TIMES, click here.

 

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