Duncan James, who rose to fame in the early ’00s in the British boy band Blue and came out as bisexual in 2009, shared a photo with his new boyfriend Rodrigo Reis on Instagram over the weekend and said he’s now “happy in [his] skin” and “proud 2 be gay.”
James made the statement after posting a photo cuddling with his boyfriend on Instagram and receiving an enthusiastic response from followers.
Wrote James on Twitter: “I posted this pic on my Insta yesterday & couldn’t get over the amazing response, comments and love from people. I didn’t identify as a gay man for many years because of my own issues with coming out, but finally im happy in my skin & this guy next 2 me makes me proud 2 be gay.”
In 2014, five years after coming out as bisexual, James clarified that he calls himself gay but he could still “easily sleep with a woman.”
Said James in the interview: “I think to myself, I sleep with men, so that makes me gay. Regardless of whether I sleep with women or not, I’m still sleeping with men so I’m gay. So I’m still attracted to women, I could still easily sleep with a woman. I haven’t in the last couple of years but I think if I meet a girl I could still have a relationship with her. I could still be romantically and sexually attracted involved with a girl.”
“But I still call myself gay,” he added. “I’m a gay guy. I like men, so that makes me gay. Don’t get me wrong, I think people can be bisexual. When I came out as bisexual at the time, it was just easier to use the word. I do say I’m gay, but I don’t really care about labels. I don’t really care if people want to call me bisexual or gay.”
