Jason Mraz is opening up about his sexuality. On Jesse Tyler Ferguson‘s Dinner’s on Me podcast, the 47-year-old singer shared why he did not publicly talk about his sexuality till 2018.
Mraz started the dialog by noting that he realized he wasn’t straight as he “received older.”
“I did not have too many sexual experiences in highschool. I used to be sort of afraid of highschool. I used to be bullied and simply able to get out of city,” he defined. “… That is why New York Metropolis was nice and, even ultimately, California was nice. I additionally did not have an entire lot of self-confidence, skinny, scrawny, 18-year-old child in New York. I do not even know what to flirt with, who to flirt with, tips on how to flirt.”
After spending time in New York, Mraz took off for California the place he “met a group of individuals that will see me in a brand new approach.”
“I might by no means totally been seen earlier than, and I appreciated how I used to be being seen and heard,” he mentioned. “However, on the identical time, I nonetheless took with me the conservative road that I grew up on, and that was very onerous to disregard or to interrupt out of. I used to be very shy and petrified of what my household would say, or what my hometown would suppose, or simply no matter.”
Mraz, who famous that his dad and mom are “very supportive,” went on to additional make clear why he did not come out in his youthful years.
“Within the ’90s, being homosexual was like [the] punchline of a joke, and I did not need to be the punchline of a joke,” he mentioned. “I stored my nostril down and discovered methods I might as a substitute get out and see the world in the future. I have been having fun with that.”
Mraz then categorized himself as “a late bloomer,” revealing, “My experiences are few.”
“Despite the fact that I have been a late bloomer to the place I’m now, actually I really feel like my life is simply beginning,” he mentioned. “I am unable to say that I’ve discovered love. I’ve been in wonderful relationships and I’ve at all times realized and grown… however I like the place I’m. I really feel a lot love for myself lastly that may solely improve the subsequent relationship, or a relationship, after I discover one.”
Mraz was married to Sheridan Edley from 2000 to 2001. He tied the knot with Christina Carano in 2015, and the pair break up eight years later. Throughout his marriage to Carano, Mraz mentioned his sexuality in an interview with Billboard.
“I’ve had experiences with males, even whereas I used to be relationship the lady who turned my spouse,” he instructed the outlet in 2018. “It was like, ‘Wow, does that imply I’m homosexual?’ And my spouse laid it out for me. She calls it ‘two spirit,’ which is what the Native Individuals name somebody who can love each man and lady. I actually like that.”
Then, in a 2023 dialog with GLAAD, Mraz shared how his divorce helped him embrace his personal identification.
“You carry a whole lot of disgrace, guilt,” he mentioned. “You need to heal as many relationships of the previous as attainable, and on the identical time, step into this new acceptance and new identification or no matter I’m claiming, and that is additionally onerous.”
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