Miss Great Britain comes out as bisexual and shares painfully relatable queer awakening: ‘I was obsessed with wrestling’
(Instagram/Jen Atkin)
Miss Great Britain 2020 Jen Atkin has come out as bisexual, saying she has been attracted to girls since she was a teen.
Atkin, an aviation administrator from Grimsby, won the 75th Miss Great Britain contest in Leicester last February. She is now the first Miss Great Britain winner to come out as part of the LGBT+ community.
Atkin told The Sun that she realised she was attracted to women while watching wrestling as a child. She said: “I watched wrestling with my brother, and I was obsessed with the divas in their tiny shorts.
“I would also fancy his girlfriends which is something I’ve never admitted before.”
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She said she initially thought she might be a lesbian after dating a female neighbour when she was a teenage, but she started seeing men too. Atkin was engaged to a man before they broke up.
She said she met her first serious girlfriend at a Manchester gay bar. Atkin said: “I thought, I need to tell my parents. I need to tell my friends because I’ve met someone I really like, and it’s a woman and they might understand.
“I rang my mum. She was totally fine about it.”
Miss Great Britain wants to use the title to fight misconceptions about bisexual people
Jen Atkin told The Sun she wants to use her crown and title to fight misconceptions about bisexual people. She said people “see me as this stereotype, being Miss Great Britain in massive heels and a little pink dress”, but “things aren’t always as they appear”.
The Miss Great Britain winner said she sees little difference between the sexes while dating. She said her bisexuality “just means that I have more options when it comes to relationships”, adding she would be “thrilled” if Rita Ora or Love Island star Megan Barton slid into her DMs.
Atkins explained she hoped her coming out could encourage others to do the same. She explained: “Even if it helps one person to open up to family or friends, it’d be such a good thing.”
