Will Young: I was ashamed of being gay and was addicted to porn
In a new interview, Will Young has spoken about growing up ashamed of being gay and that he thinks it had a long term negative effect on his dating life, including being addicted to porn.
The Metro reported that the gay singer referred to 2011 as “miserable” and that he constantly reassured himself that everything would always work out:
“It got to the stage last year where I thought I was on top of work, that I’d find a boyfriend and everything would be all right,” he said. “But something was going wrong. What I’ve realised is that growing up knowing I was gay from a young age, I always felt extremely ashamed. It’s a cliché but it’s true.
“I’ve only just realised how shit that’s made me feel about myself for a very, very long time,” Young, 33, said, describing his relationships as a “trauma”.
He also addressed the fact that having money and a career didn’t help the issues he was facing:
“It doesn’t even help when you have loads of money,” he added, “I’d buy houses and get nothing from it. Bought cars, got nothing from it. I’ve gone out and spent £5,000 in Selfridges – and nothing. I don’t even wear the stuff. All those things I thought would bring me happiness, don’t.”
He also said that his shame affected the way he thought about sex: “It never moved into sex addiction. For me, it was love addiction and fantasy. I was probably addicted to porn. Yeah, I have [the safe search browser now].”
In 2011, he also addressed negative experiences of coming out, and growing up: “I was terrified of being gay so I didn’t really feel sexual until I was about 26… I was quite inhibited. I feel like I’ve reached a place that I’m happy with, worked out things I will never do. It’s taken me years to work that out.”
