All the tea on gay Bridgerton heartthrob Jonathan Bailey, including his net worth and his partner
Jonathan Bailey in Bridgerton. (Netflix)
Jonathan Bailey is probably best-known for his star turn as Lord Anthony Bridgerton in Netflix’s hit Regency-inspired romance, but his career extends well beyond that show.
The actor, who turned 36 last month, has worked across TV, film and theatre and first trod the boards at the age of 7, featuring in the 1995 Royal Shakespeare Company production of A Christmas Carol at the Barbican Theatre in London, and a year later he portrayed Gavroche in Les Misérables.
He took ballet lessons at school but turned down a music scholarship at Oxford and opted against studying drama.
What else has Jonathan Bailey been in?
As well as featuring in Bridgerton, Bailey has starred in the hit TV series and films such as Broadchurch, Testament of Youth, St Trinian’s, and as a somewhat bonkers King Herod in The Young Messiah.
Recently he received critical acclaim for his role in the emotionally turbulent romantic drama Fellow Travelers. He played Tim, a young staffer who becomes entangled in a relationship with closeted State Department official Hawk (Matt Bomer).
Bailey won the Critics’ Choice Award for best supporting actor in a mini-series for his performance, and used his acceptance speech to honour the LGBTQ+ community.
“For many, it’s an education. But for us, it’s a vital truth. This series is a much-needed reminder that LGBTQ+ people have always existed – mostly hidden,” he said.
The Oxfordshire-born actor is also set to star in the upcoming third season of Heartstopper, playing Jack Maddox, the Insta-famous classical academic and celebrity crush of protagonist Charlie Spring.
“Like so many people, I watched the first [season] and thought it was one of the biggest, most beautiful gifts to so many people, and I wish I had that growing up,” Bailey told Variety.
“I had a mutual friend who knows [executive producer Patrick Walters] and I said: ‘If there’s anything I could do to help and be a part of that story’…”
Bailey will also appear as Fiyero, in the forthcoming two-part movie musical Wicked.
It’s also been confirmed that he will play the lead role in dinosaur thriller Jurassic World 4.
But his roles haven’t been confined to the screen. He starred as Jamie in Stephen Sondheim’s gender-swap version of Company, winning an Olivier Award for best actor in a supporting role in a musical in 2019.
In 2022, he appeared on stage in London’s Ambassadors Theatre in a play called Cock. Bailey played John, a man who identifies as gay, and is happy in himself and with his boyfriend, played by Taron Egerton. However, when he meets ‘the woman of his dreams’ John begins to question his sexuality and how he labels himself.
Is Jonathan Bailey gay?
Yes! Very much so, we are very pleased to report. Bailey came out as gay to his family and friends in his early twenties. He has said he understood his sexuality from the age of 11 but the lack of positive representation and ability to articulate it prevented him from blossoming.
He came out publicly in 2018 when he revealed that he was drawing from his own experiences for his role in Company.
“F**k this, I’d much prefer to hold my boyfriend’s hand”
Speaking to GQ, Bailey recalled that someone gave an actor friend advice related to sexuality. “At the time he was told: ‘There [are] two things we don’t want to know: if you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay’.
“All it takes is for one of those people in that position of power to say that, and it ripples through. So, yeah, of course I thought in order to be happy, I needed to be straight.”
But, he added: “I reached a point where I thought, ‘F**k this, I’d much prefer to hold my boyfriend’s hand in public or be able to put my own face picture on Tinder and not be so concerned about that, than get a part’.”
Bailey is a patron of LGBTQ+ youth charity Just Like Us, which works with schools and colleges to ensure young queer people can thrive.
He recently raised more than £30,000 for LGBTQ+ youth charity Just Like Us after running the Hackney Half Marathon
Does Jonathan Bailey have a partner?
Bailey confirmed in December that he has a partner, whom he described as a “lovely man”. But he has kept details of his relationship under wraps.
“It’s not secret, but it’s private,” he explained. “Having a private life is, for me, critical. I don’t know if I would be able to be as confident to speak out on other things if I felt my whole life was up for grabs.”
What is Jonathan Bailey’s net worth?
According to a salary source, Bailey’s net worth is around £1.5 million ($1.9 million).
It has been reported that his Bridgerton salary increased substantially when his role became more integral to the story. With a lead role in Jurassic World 4 coming up, along with all of his other high-profile projects, that sum seems likely to increase in the future.
