Jonathan Bailey likes to keep details of his love life under wraps.
The Bridgerton actor revealed in December 2023 that he was, in fact, in a relationship, but fans shouldn’t expect to meet his significant other just yet.
“It’s not secret, but it’s private,” Bailey told the Evening Standard at the time, noting that he’s in a relationship with a “lovely man.”
Bailey’s claim to fame came when the first season of Bridgerton premiered via Netflix in December 2020 and fans were introduced to his character, Anthony Bridgerton. When the second season aired in March 2022, Bailey was front and center as his character’s love story was the focal point of each episode.
As his name became more recognizable, questions about Bailey’s love life started to rise. Initially, however, Bailey didn’t reveal that he was a gay man.
“The most conservative conversations I’ve had about me being honest about my sexuality in this day and age have come from gay men in the industry,” he admitted during an interview with Attitude magazine in December 2020, revealing that he was told not to come out publicly. “This was at a stage where perhaps I was coming to terms with my own sexuality, I hadn’t necessarily hidden it. … But I’ve never been not honest about it. It’s just there had never been a need to talk about it.”
He added, “There’s a sense of shame, I think, that’s palpable throughout gay men within the industry. But then there’s also this heteronormative, heterosexual understanding of sexuality.”
Bailey recalled a discussion with an “actor friend” about Hollywood, in a separate interview with GQ from March 2022.
“There’s two things we don’t want to know: if you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay,” the friend said. “All it takes is for one of those people in that position of power to say that, and it ripples through.”
However, Bailey has since discussed his sexuality — and therefore, his love life — on his own terms. Keep scrolling to read his most honest quotes:
Hiding His Sexuality
“I thought that in order to be happy I needed to be straight,” Bailey shared in the GQ interview. “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 getting a part.”
His Feelings About Love
“I believe in romance and love in all forms,” he told Town & Country in April 2022. “I believe that we all have to believe. That’s what is the fundamental faith that keeps us going.”
Keeping Things Out of the Public Eye
“Having a private life is, for me, completely critical,” he told the Evening Standard. “I don’t know if I would be able to be as confident to speak out on other things if I felt that my whole life was up for grabs.”
