The Circle’s Freddie Bentley reveals his favourite thing about being gay
Freddie Bentley shares his coming out story (PinkNews)
Freddie Bentley briefly pretended to be straight on Channel 4’s The Circle before coming out to the nation as gay on TV.
“My game plan was to pretend to be straight just because in my day-to-day life I get categorised as the gay best friend,” he told PinkNews.
“I went on there to see if my personality would shine through without mentioning my sexuality.”
But The Circle was not his first big coming out as gay—watch the video below to see Freddie share the moment he came out to his mum, and his favourite thing about being gay.
“I think when I was born I knew I was always different,” Freddie explained.
“I was always the person in the Snow White dresses, the Cinderella ball gowns, nicking my sister’s clothes and stuff.
“Then I remember saying to my mum there was something different about me.
“Stay camp and be fabulous.”
— Freddie Bentley
“I used to hold a lot of anger. At school I’d be a really happy person and then I’d come home and kick off, break things, like a really, really angry kid.
“We sat down and had a serious conversation.”
Freddie Bentley’s advice for coming out as gay
Since coming out on TV, Freddie often receives messages on Instagram from young gay people asking for advice on coming out as gay.
He advises: “Believe in your gut and go with your instinct. At the end of the day, you’re only going to be beating yourself up for not being your true self.
“I held so much anger in as a kid by not being myself and then when I come out, I was like, actually, regardless of whether my family weren’t accepting of it, there are people out there that love you for you.
“So don’t worry. If your family can’t accept you for you then, with the greatest due respect, there’s no point wasting your time with them.”
Most important of all, Freddie adds, is to “stay camp and be fabulous.”
Freddie Bentley told PinkNews his favourite thing about being gay (PinkNews)
How can I support my friend coming out as gay?
If you have a friend or family member who comes out to you, Freddie suggests supporting them by doing three things.
He said: “You just need to be supportive. If they’ve asked you not to tell anyone then keep that a secret because at the beginning, when you’ve been so vulnerable to someone, it is so vital that you gain their trust.
“It takes a lot to come out, [it] is so hard because not only have you got to accept it yourself you’ve got then to try and go through the pyramid of everyone else accepting it.
“So if someone has trusted in you and confided in you, then please just be respectful of that.
“Tell them it’s fine to be who you are, you love them no matter what.”
