Ian Thorpe Discusses Coming Out: "The Lie Had Become So Big"
Champion swimmer Ian Thorpe revealed he was gay in an interview with Michael Parkinson last night, stating “I’m not straight. And this is only something that very recently, we’re talking in the past two weeks, I’ve been comfortable telling the closest people around me.”
Thorpe, 31, has been questioned about his sexuality since he became a champion swimmer in his teens, and always denied he was gay. "I felt the lie had become so big that I didn’t want people to question my integrity,” he admits. “And, you know, a little bit of ego comes into this. I didn’t want people to question… have I lied about everything?”
He admits he's "a little bit ashamed that I didn't come out earlier—that I didn't have the strength, I didn't have the courage to do it, to break that lie."
Despite his success in the water, Thorpe admitted in his 2012 autobiography, This is Me, that he had considered suicide and abused alcohol to cope with depression.
He also discussed the strains he felt with his father: “Religion is an area where my father and I continue to have our differences. [He] has spent the last 15 years trying to draw me back into the family... although, to be fair, he hasn’t been fully aware of the some of the issues which made me isolate myself.”
While Thorpe didn't discuss his dating life with Parkinson, he had previously been linked in tabloids to Brazilian swimmer Daniel Mendes, his roommate for several years.
Now pursuing a career as a sports commentator, Thorpe says he decided to open up to help other young people come to terms with their sexuality:
I’m comfortable saying I’m a gay man. And I don’t want young people to feel the same way that I did. You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay.
I was concerned about the reaction from my family, my friends. I’m pleased to say that in telling them, and especially my parents, they told me that they love me and they support me. And for young people out there, know that that’s usually what the answer is.
