Jonathan Bailey has been acting since his childhood. After getting his start in the theater and appearing in many beloved productions for shows like Company, The Last Five Years, and Othello, he had his breakout worldwide role when he appeared as Anthony Bridgerton in the hit Netflix show Bridgerton. He’s also set to appear in the upcoming Wicked movie, and he’s been starring in the hit Showtime series Fellow Travelers.
Throughout his career, Jonathan has been very open about his sexuality. As a gay man, he’s committed to LGBTQ+ visibility. While he mostly keeps his relationships out of the spotlight, he did recently confirm that he’s been in a relationship with a “lovely man” in a December 2023 interview with Evening Standard. Ahead of the Fellow Travelers season finale, get to know more about Jonathan’s love life and what he’s said about his sexuality and keeping his relationship private.
Jonathan Discusses His Sexuality
Jonathan has been out to his family and friends since his early 20s, according to a 2022 GQ profile. He did admit that early on in his career, he tried to hide his sexuality. “There’s two things we don’t want to know: if you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay,” he recalled a friend telling him. “So, yeah, of course I thought that. Of course I thought that in order to be happy I needed to be straight.”
He admitted that later he realized that he’d be more comfortable being out with his sexuality rather than working about his work. “I reached a point where I thought, Fuck 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 told GQ.
He also recalled the pressure from the entertainment business in a 2020 conversation with Sir Ian McKellen for Attitude. “This was at a stage where perhaps I was coming to terms with my own sexuality, I hadn’t necessarily hidden it… But I’ve never been not honest about it,” he said. “here’s a sense of shame, I think, that’s palpable throughout gay men within the industry. But then there’s also this heteronormative, heterosexual understanding of sexuality.”
His Commitment to LGBTQ+ Visibility
In the above-mentioned interview with Attitude, Jonathan revealed that he hoped for more visibility from the gay community, while also maintaining a sense of privacy. “I’ll talk about my versatility on stage. For me, it’s about visibility. That’s it,” he said. “Playing straight characters, wanting to be visible, but also knowing that there are lots of things about my life that are personal, and I don’t want to cross that line. But visibility is key.”
Jonathan has also shared his own experience with being threatened because of his sexuality in the above-mentioned Evening Standard interview. The Bridgerton star also spoke about how this experience wasn’t necessarily unique. “It’s international. And it’s terrifying, that [here in the UK] we’re not looking after queer people, in terms of allowing them into the country. Because that is the reality; people’s lives are literally at risk,” he said. “People are still living in the closet. Or they’ve had a moment where they’re watching and they realise, that was their father’s story, or their mother’s story; or it’s people who have been affected by this, but for the first time are understanding the trauma.”
What Has He Said About Love?
Jonathan admitted that he does believe in love at first sight in an April 2022 Town and Country interview. “I believe in romance and love in all forms,” he explained. “I believe that we all have to believe. That’s what is the fundamental faith that keeps us going.”
Why He Keeps His Relationships Private
While Jonathan admitted that he has someone special in his life in the Evening Standard piece, he did admit that he does try to separate his work from his personal life. While he’s not keeping his relationship a “secret,” he does prefer to keep it “private” from the public eye. “Having a private life is, for me, completely critical. I don’t know if I would be able to be as confident to speak out on other things if I felt that my whole life was up for grabs,” he said.