Emeli Sandé says she felt pressured to stay closeted by the music industry
Emeli Sandé (Getty/Eamonn M. McCormack)
Emeli Sandé has claimed that working in the music gave her “a feeling” that she shouldn’t come out publicly.
The “Next to Me” singer came out on 1 April and revealed she is in love with a woman whom she believes is “the one for life”.
In a new interview over the weekend at National Student Pride, the “My Kind of Love” hitmaker stressed that while no exact words were said to her about the matter, she had felt a subtle pressure to avoid coming out.
“It was never said directly to me but it was definitely something that I felt people didn’t… they wanted to avoid coming out,” Sandé explained. “Maybe they were afraid of how it would affect things, I’m not sure. But nobody ever said directly to me ‘don’t do it it’, but it was a…. feeling, yeah. For sure.”
Emeli Sandé with her partner Yoana. (Twitter/ emelisande)
The 35-year-old continued: “So, now I’m just like, cool, whatever comes if people choose not to listen to my music; hopefully, they won’t. But I have to be true. That’s number one.”
Opening up about the support she has received from her current management, who she began working with in 2020, Sandé stated: “They were like, ‘You can’t live a lie, just be yourself. We love you, everyone that’s supposed to go on this journey with you will come with you.’ They made me feel really relaxed about it. A lot more liberated, for sure.”
The singer opened up about her relationship with pianist Yoana in an interview with Metro, revealing the pair met “through music”.
She added that she’s “not sure” about labelling her sexuality at this time, but “guessed” she could identify as bisexual when asked.
“I just feel like I should fall in love with whoever I fall in love with,” Emeli Sandé said.
The singer was previously wed to marine biologist Adam Gouraguine. The two married in September 2012 before breaking things off in 2014.
Sandé revealed she has introduced her new partner to her parents, and their response was “all good”.
Of her new relationship, Emeli Sandé added: “I definitely feel happier than ever. It feels great.” “For me, true love and having love in your life makes everything fit into place.”
Sandé opened up about her love life as she released the music video for her new song “There Isn’t Much”, which features a group of queer dancers.
She confirmed that the song was inspired by “everything I thought I wanted being nothing without the right person to share it with”.
