Although on “Bridgerton” Jonathan Bailey portrays a toxic straight male, in real life, Bailey is gay, something he hid from the public for a long time (via YourTango).
Bailey chose to keep his sexuality a secret based on advice of a friend. “There’s two things we don’t want to know: If you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay,” Bailey recalled his friend saying. “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 that. Of course I thought that in order to be happy I needed to be straight.”
Eventually, Bailey realized he needed to be true to himself. “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,” he continued.
Although Bailey hasn’t publicly commented on who he’s dating, he’s believed to be seeing James Ellis. In addition to being photographed together, Ellis also joined Bailey at the 2019 Olivier Awards. There, Bailey won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in the West End revival of “Company” — at which time he expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to play an authentic and openly gay character — and afterwards reportedly shared a kiss with Ellis. We ultimately couldn’t be happier that Bailey is living his true, authentic life.
