Arrow’s Colton Haynes opens up about his sexuality
Colton Haynes has opened up about his sexuality in an emotional new interview.
The Arrow actor spoke about his love life for the very first time, four months after a fan questioned him on Tumblr about his “secret gay past”.
“Was it a secret? Let’s all just enjoy life & have no regrets,” he wrote to the fan at the time – but now acknowledges that the question blindsided him.
At that point in his life, Haynes was being treated for anxiety – the same issue that had led him to quit both Teen Wolf and Arrow in prior years.
Now, he is telling Entertainment Weekly: “I should have made a comment or a statement, but I just wasn’t ready. I didn’t feel like I owed anyone anything.
“I think in due time, everyone has to make those decisions when they’re ready, and I wasn’t yet. But I felt like I was letting people down by not coming forward with the rest of what I should have said.”
He went on to say: “People want you to be that GQ image that you put out, but people don’t realise what it’s like to act 24 hours a day. I’d go home and I was still acting.
“People who are so judgmental about those who are gay or different don’t realise that acting 24 hours a day is the most exhausting thing in the world.”
Now that he is speaking out, Haynes says he has found new happiness on both a personal and professional level.
“It took me so long to get to this point, but I’m doing so good,” he explained. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and healthier than I’ve ever been, and that’s what I care about.”
Haynes is back working as well, having returned to Arrow for a brief stint earlier in the year and popping up on the Fox comedy The Grinder.
Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black is among the many praising Haynes for his courage in tackling anxiety.
“For years I’ve had the honor of watching u grow as a human, an actor and a pal. Never been prouder,” Black tweeted.
Haynes has also used social media to thank fans for their support, writing: “I believe in livin life to the fullest & takin control of your life story. More to come.”
