Duncan James comes out as bisexual

Duncan James, English singer, actor, and television presenter, of the popular British boy band Blue (2001-2005) has come out as bisexual in an interview with UK tabloid News of the World.

Bravo for strength and courage! It can't be easy to reveal this kind of information to millions of fans, but as Blue are in the midst of preparations for a 2009 reunion tour, for Duncan, the News of the World interview was a propitious opportunity:

"I don't feel I should launch a big comeback with Blue hiding this - I don't want to go back to the time in the band when I felt I had to keep certain things quiet. I want to be OUT and say I've had relationships with men as well as women. So doing this interview gives me the ability to go forward."

Hear ye and hear him!

Raised a strict catholic, Duncan first fell in love with a man eight years ago, and since then he has been with men and women, and fathered a daughter with his ex-girlfriend Claire Granger. One of the gems of the interview is when Duncan explains how he came out to his mother during a trip to Los Angeles:

"I was looking down and avoiding her eyes. I said, 'I need to talk to you'. She said, 'Oh my God, what's wrong, are you all right?' I responded, 'I need to tell you something. I've been in a relationship with a guy and I'm really confused about it. I haven't been able to talk to anyone for a couple of years.' She hugged me and couldn't believe it. She said, 'I thought you were going to tell me you were dying or something. Hundreds of people have had things with guys as well as girls. I love you, that doesn't matter to me.' We were flooded with tears. It had come out. I'd told my mum and she still loved me. I went up to my room after and sat on my bed crying. I realised, 'I can do this.' It gave me the strength to start opening up to my close friends."

Beautiful!

Male bisexuals in particular have few public role models, so this is a big step on the road of progress. Thanks for sharing your story, Duncan James.

Check out the full interview here.