Gok Wan: How I told my parents I was gay

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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TV presenter Gok Wan has revealed how he told his parents he was gay.

In an interview with GQ magazine the How To Look Good Naked star spoke emotionally of his father's acceptance of his sexuality.

Coming out: Gok wan tells his story

"I was dating a guy, and I basically used him because I knew I'd have to take someone home eventually and thought I'd try it out with him," he said.

"My sister and brother were there, we all sat down and it was just the most excruciating meal ever.

"My family is normally Shameless meets The Royle Family. But this night it was so weird. I had left home and no longer had a bedroom, so my dad left the table early, which he never did, and went into the living room and made a bed for the two of us with an open fire.

"It was extraordinary, his quiet way of showing his acceptance. The reason I've never told that story is that my dad and I have never discussed it.

"I just went into the toilet that night and wept buckets. And then we went to bed and nothing more was said."

Wan told Piers Morgan he had slept with "21 and a half" men and lost his virginity while underage with a boy the same age, and said he had also had sex with women in the past.

Of pop mogul Simon Cowell, Wan said: "He's so camp he makes me look like a World Wrestling Entertainment character. He is such a prolific figure in our culture now, and his arrogance and success are so attractive."

Asked if he would have sex with the X Factor and Britain's Got Talent judge, he replied: "Oh God yes, ten times over.

"With the entire Britain's Got Talent audience watching. And scorecards, too. And Susan Boyle can be singing in the background."

The full interview appears in the September edition of GQ magazine.

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