Phillip Schofield has come out as gay

[catinb0oots]

Blimey. Married for 27 years.

Is anyone straight any more? Family values are so 1980s

Are you seriously saying that gay people can't have family values? I hope not as that would be incredibly homophobic, wouldn't it?

My mum and wife have amazing family values, so get to fuck with your bigotry.

What PS has done is the equivalent of my mum announcing she is straight. I would be furious at her having deceived her wonderful wife for nearly 20 years. Heartbroken for my stepmum, and would feel totally deceived. I wouldn't think my mum was "brave" but that she had been duplicitous.

The sexuality isnt the point. The living a lie, to the people you are supposed to love most in the world, is.

I have to say, I have known several people over the years who have come out as gay or lesbian after having been in a heterosexual marriage for years, plus having children. It isn't that simple or straightforward, and it isn't necessarily lying to your wife for years, in cases where the man concerned hadn't admitted it to himself. Similarly for women I have known who were married and came out as lesbian, it really isn't as simple as 'you lied to me for years'.

'Coming out' wasn't that simple, even 10-20 years ago. I have lesbian friends who were really stuck as regards previous heterosexual marriage, for example, when coming out very possibly could have meant not having custody of the children. It's NOT a level playing field, where admitting to yourself that you are gay or lesbian is straightforward and simple, no issues, no worries, why would anyone pretend they weren't and have a straight marriage........

Or have you all forgotten how recently it was that it became illegal to sack people for being gay, when it was okay for gay people to be in the armed forces. Equal marriage wasn't until 2014.

@dementedma since he decided to ‘go live’ with it on mainstream tv.

My youngest ( 22) wasn't completely sure who he was at first! He doesn't watch ' normal ' tv much. (He knew who Holly is as he used to like the Keith Lemon shows! )

Didn't he say his wife has known, as in for a while. Her choice to stay with him. I'm sure they had some sort of agreement which allowed them to be with other partners.

"they married in the 90s not the 30s."
Things weren't that great for lesbian and gay people in the 90's, stop pretending they were! I have seen too many gay and lesbian people in heterosexual relationships to simple label them all as cowards and liars for not being open and coming out.

If you remember the 1980s and 90s, no mainstream tv presenter had come out, bar a very few 'camp' ones.

Nowadays it is really no-ones business and I hope he finds some inner peace. I do wonder though whether a newspaper or some former friend was about to out him.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2019/sep/11/homophobic-hate-charges-reports

Hasn’t been a taboo subject for 3 decades.

'Coming out' wasn't that simple, even 10-20 years ago. I have lesbian friends who were really stuck as regards previous heterosexual marriage

I totally agree with this. I just hope the spouses that get left behind get just as much support and love as the person who comes out. Because it seems like noone ever mentions them at all, yet they will also be in great emotional pain.

Unless it is someone that we are considering entering into a relationship with, why do we ever need to know someone's sexual orientation? I don't understand why gay people feel the need or the want to 'come out'. Why do some think their sexual orientation is who they are? It is just one part of our nature and it really isn't our defining attribute. My sexual orientation does not define me.

In the case of PS, why the need to tell the population of the UK?

I feel very sorry for him if he didn't know (well, I presume he didn't) that he was gay before he married his wife. I hope he didn't know. I feel very sorry for his wife because her life probably hasn't turned out how she would have wanted it to.

I don't have any sympathy though for gay people who marry someone of the opposite sex and do not tell them of their sexuality. There is no need for any gay person to to do that.

I'm pretty sure it was a sham marriage and the wife knew all along. These are fairly common even these days in 'the biz' eg Michael Ball and Cathy McGowan, and often there are friends in the loop. The very quick "coming out" followed by "she's totally supportive" would certainly point to her knowing. It never happened. He very likely got blackmailed by a reporter and that's when they decided to tell the kids and arrange this whole show today.

I am guessing lots of marriages are more ' business arrangements' than for love.
I often see couples and think ' they seem an odd couple' , but that's it really.

Brave my arse. They're showing a montage on the BBC news as if he's dead ffs. He's married with kids, I find this quite sickening tbh.

@OxfordCat - crikey, is Michael Ball STILL not out? I thought he had come out years ago.

In th 90's there was no need for a sham marriage he could have just stayed single....George Michael and others are great examples of people who didn't need to do that. It's never easy but brave is not the word.

Tbh if in 2020 coming out is seen as brave not a normal ish thing. Should coming out even be a thing!,,,

Compared to his wife PS has some control over the situation she ( unless she knew from day one prior to marriage) did not.

I am with Oxford in showbiz circles she has always been known as his "beard". I do believe she has always known and that she was happy with her lot. Maybe I am wrong, but I also do genuinely believe they both love each other just not in a sexual way. I hope they get some peace away from the media and can just deal with it all together.

I don't understand why gay people feel the need or the want to 'come out'. Why do some think their sexual orientation is who they are? It is just one part of our nature and it really isn't our defining attribute. My sexual orientation does not define me.

Says a straight person!

Can’t you imagine for a moment, how difficult it would be for a gay person to never mention their sexuality, and yet at the same time having to negotiate small talk with people like “are you married?” or “do you have kids?”

Unless you have direct experience I think it’s hard to imagine how, actually, gay people have to “come out” to people constantly. Society is obviously heteronormative and people will naturally assume most people are straight unless told to the contrary. Unless you think gay people should pretend to be straight for fear of coming across like their sexuality defines them, as you say

Being gay is not the issue, its deceiving your wife. I bet Holly had words with him about that.

Is it really anyone's business? So many judgements about someone who we know very little about including their private life. He's gay so what, we have no idea how long his family have known or the decisions they have made in their relationship. I hate gossipy judgemental threads like these. Is it any wonder some are too afraid to be who they really are.

Is it really anyone's business?

No- but he is announcing it on all social media platforms, holly and him are weeping and wailing and gushing about it on national Tv so of course people are going to talk about it. They started the discussion so thats what people are doing, its hardly surprising.

If he had chosen to quietly split with his wife and not say anything, I doubt people would be talking about it as much as they are now.

What a contrived situation this is.

The interview on TM is cringeworthy- deserving of an oscar.

Total narcissist.

The whole performance this morning was indulgent

As a nation we need to grip if we see this as being "heroic" which some people have said .

Agree that he’s a total narcissist

It very often IS as simple as lying to your girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/husband for years.