Phillip Schofield has come out as gay

[catinb0oots]

Blimey. Married for 27 years.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s it was far far less acceptable to be gay, and many men (and women) hid those feeling from themselves and had heterosexual marriages (because they thought it would make them straight / because it was expected of them or whatever).
I'm not being funny but we're you around in the 80s and 90s?
See, I was around in the 90s. I remember 1993 very well and I knew lots of people in showbiz and theatre. It absolutely was not nessecary for gay men working in entertainment to have a "beard" or a sham marriage! It wasn't the bloody 50's
Now, I don't know if that's what he did, maybe he wasn't sure back then, I don't know, but plenty of people were out and proud in the 80s and 90s FFS. Even in the deep North where I grew up, let alone London.

If only everything was as black and white as some posters make it out to be. There is every chance he has buried his sexuality down inside him for years. He might have convinces himself that what he felt for his wife was love (which it probably was but more like the love for a friend). The truth is we just dont know and like many things there will be shades of grey that have made this situation happen.
I know a woman who was married and had children, when her children were grown up and her parents died she finally admitted to herself and others that she was gay. It was something she had convinced herself for years couldn't be true. She didnt want to disappoint her parents so she got married, then she couldn't ruin her childrens childhood etc. But mainly she was just so deeply ashamed of feeling something her family said was unnatural. Overall it was sad for everyone involved.

He was in the entertainment business, it's was the 80's and 90's not the 1950s, of course he could have came out at the time and still had a career .

it is always the gay men who come out that are considered brave, while the wives and children's feelings are forgotten

:-( I would like to add though that this can't be anywhere near as difficult for the wife and children whose father decides they are a transwoman, be called 'stunning and brave', and force their children to call him "Mum".

None of us know the truth about who knew what and when in the Schofield family.

I always felt there was something behind the eyes with him, something hidden, but I did not know it was this. As with many in the public eye, the private persona does not match what is spun. I believe in equality and I do not care that he is gay. It is none of my business. I am not a fan or watcher of morning TV or celebrity culture. My only hope is that all the Schofield family get the support and privacy they deserve.

Did this need 3 threads?!

He probably ignored or fought it for years as many gay people do.
Especially 30 years ago.
It is sad. I hope his wife can move on, she probably suspected for years, although it is shit, hurtful it is better knowing the truth than believing the problem is with you.

Possibly the most underwhelming news of the week. I never thought he was anything else, and the surprise to me is that he is married with daughters (he’s not someone I ever watch, and his kitten and puppy cuddling adverts are toe curlingly embarrassing) so that’s the “oh, well I never” bit for me. I hope his wife and daughters cope strongly, and I wish them all well, he’s got some explaining to do for sure.

i think thats a bit mean. Im sure he still loves her if you see what i mean, it makes me think of Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin. He obviously cared for her a great deal even though he was gay.

I'm not disputing whether he loved her or not & of course it's possible. My issue is more on the one hand he's carrying around the weight of this "awful secret" but then posting loving images on instagram & taking jobs as a husband & wife team to portray that image. That's what I find disingenuous.

Call me old fashioned, but why is he bleating / sobbing / being applauded on live TV about this at all? Wouldn't a quiet family announcement have done the job just as well, if he really wanted to share what's essentially a private matter - unless he really is trying to claw back some sympathy after recent comments?

Sorry, but it's all just a bit too self absorbed for my taste

IfNot, totally agree. Gay Pride was a big thing in the mid 90s and loads of celebs were there.

She might have known for years. But I doubt she knew BEFORE she got married and had kids with him.

This. And of course she now has to act like she's supportive and happy, or people will rip her to shreds for being "nasty" if she even expresses a tiny hint that she's upset, etc.

You've only got to read a tiny amount of the threads on here started by women who have had husbands come out as gay to see the devastation caused.

It's the secrecy, denial, and in many cases abuse from the husband trying to hide it all, etc. The loss of the life together, dreams for the future together, the sexual betrayal.

And then you have to smile in public, hiding the hurt.

That interview 27 years ago was so telling. From: "What does being in love mean?"
Thats almost the same as Prince Charles isn't it? And we know he was carrying a flame for Camilla all the time.

To he was monogamous because he was afraid of Aids. Aids was rarely transmitted between straight couples outside of prostitution.

And we are talking about the 80/90 - Homosexuality wasn't forbidden, in fact people were coming to terms with the fact that most of the 1950 heart-throbs seemed to have been gay. In entertainment it was pretty much accepted. Section 28 wasn't something that most people approved of, and TV was full of "This Life" and "Queer as Folk".

dunnyplop i find it more probable that he was just trying to convince himself he was happy - like every other fucker posting images of the "perfect family" on social media.

In the 80s I knew a couple where he 'came out' ... because he was diagnosed as HIV+. Sadly, he infected his wife and the Mother of his children. She died. He, as far as I know, lives on. Oddly, he was always the 'brave' one though.

Philip Schofield was doing the broom cupboard on kids TV even before Clause 28 came in - of course it was not considered acceptable to be gay back then amongst the general population. As for lying to his wife all that time - many wives know their husbands are cheating/gambling/drinking or whatever but weigh up the options and make a conscious decision to stay. Not saying that's what's happened here but a lot of assumptions are being made on this thread.

I still don't like him as a presenter whatever his sexuality is. When him and Holly come on I turn it over! I wish him well though and his wife and children. None of it will be easy for any of them especially her.

Yeah and didn't Freddie M come out in the early 80s??

His been having sex with another "straight" Male ITV presenter for years. It's known in the industry

I am PS generation and though some people were out we were children growing up in a time when being gay had only just been decriminalised. I was brought up in a very bohemian atmosphere, Mum had been in showbiz and she had quite a few gay friends. I remember a male couple who were openly together having their flat firebombed, it would have been around 1978. I’m not excusing him living a lie and can’t imagine how his poor wife feels but I can see how this could have happened. I did have a woman colleague who was a lesbian but had been married for about 15 years, again my generation.

Society evolves and changes all the time but the radical changes in the last decade or two are the speediest ever.

30 years ago wasn't the 1800s fgs there was gay men living a life 30 years ago some posters are talking like it was the dark ages!

@getyourarseoffthequattro maybe, admittedly I'm a cynic.

The worst thing about this is that Marie McCourt's interview on This Morning today was overshadowed by this. She is a truly brave woman who has campaigned hard for the truth about what happened to her daughter.

This is all so self absorbed. No-one's died. Announce it and move on.

I must be the only one on here who wasn’t aware he was married to a woman and had kids etc (don’t watch TM). I had to google it when I saw this news as, though I must say I’ve never given it ANY deep thought, I was more surprised at the suggestion that he hasn’t always been out/gay, iyswim.

My personal feeling is that someone, probably the scum bag Dan Wootton at The Sun, was going to out him. This is why Gareth Thomas had to announce he is HIV before he was ready to.