Ian Thorpe: Dating has been a nightmare since I came out as gay
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Australian Olympian Ian Thorpe has said he has had a ānightmareā dating since coming out last year.
Thorpe came out in an interview with Michael Parkinson, publicly revealing his sexual orientation for the first time.
Now, a year on, he reflects on entering the world of dating, which he says is a new experience.
He says he has struggled to find ānormal peopleā in the dating scene, and that he has avoided using dating apps.
Speaking to Sunday Style, he said: āDatingās been a lot harder than I thought it would be.
āItās an absolute mess out there! Iām like, āWhere are all the normal people?ā Iāve never really dated, so Iāve come in being almost completely blindsided by this.
āI think if someone puts an effort into a date, then full points ā itās not like Iām a hard marker. But there are some nut cases. Itās just a bit weird.ā
He added: āBut thatās the dating scene ā I say it and I laugh and Iāve got a smile on my face, so itās not that bad.ā
Of avoiding dating apps, he added: āIāve mostly met great guys but, occasionally, Iāve met a couple of douche-y guys as well.
āItās enough motivation for me to want to settle down with someone away from that scene.ā
Despite all of this, Thorpe says he has āhad a really great yearā.