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You've always said that your sexual experiences have been with women. It was important for me to be my authentic self.'
At the time, the athlete declared: 'I've thought about this for a long time. We have stayed friends.” Ryan revealed to The Daily Telegraph at the time.
The pair were regular fixtures on the glamorous event circuit and were regularly photographed together on the red carpet.
The now-openly gay star endured speculation about his sexuality for years, before officially coming out during a TV interview with UK talk show host Michael Parkinson in 2014.
After denying his homosexuality publicly for years, Ian was finally able to be at peace with his identity as a gay man.
“I’m comfortable saying I’m a gay man.
Things kind of changed and I was not ready for that and I don't think anyone in their early twenties could be," he continued.
”I had to learn from the police how to be able to drive a car to be able to get past a stalker or someone following me, legally,” he says.
“What I wanted to do was be able to train, be able to race and the other things that come along with it, I wasn't prepared for that.”
READ MORE: Tom Daley “left furious” after transgender swimmers banned from elite female competitionsREAD MORE: Swimmer claims she was drugged at World Championships after waking up with concussionIan Thorpe has shared the heartbreaking reason he didn't want to come out as gay during the height of his swimming career.
The Olympian, 41, who came out in 2014.
It was the first time I felt I was comfortable enough to put my self out there. I had just come out to my family and to my very very closest friends,' Ian told host Melissa Doyle.
'I had spent some time with [Sir Michael Parkinson] before the interview and told him, "You should ask me if I'm gay because I'm going to tell you I am".'
Ian continued: 'I needed to say it.
At the moment I am single and looking.
Ian leads quite a private life for a public figure and has not posted any photos of a potential new partner on Instagram, nor has he confirmed any details of a new romance.
The most recent update on Ian’s relationship was given to the Sydney Morning Herald in August 2023.
“I have always been a relationships kind of guy.
You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay."
"A part of me didn't know if Australia wanted its champion to be gay. And I don't want people to feel the same way I did. “I had to have security at my house.
“I had spent some time with [Sir Michael Parkinson] before the interview and told him, ‘you should ask me if I'm gay because I'm going to tell you I am’.”
READ MORE: Olympic hero Adam Peaty declares himself fit for Commonwealth Games after bizarre injuryREAD MORE: British swimmer Dan Jervis comes out as gay ahead of Commonwealth GamesHe continued: “I needed to say it.
And this is only something that very recently - in the past two weeks - I've been comfortable telling the closest people around me exactly that.'
The Sydney native was first asked about his sexuality at 16 years old and said he didn't know at that stage but 'was still gay at the end of the day.'
'Yes, I lied about it.
Ian’s first major relationship after coming out was with Aussie model and entrepreneur Ryan Channing.
The pair dated from 2015 until 2019, before parting amicably.
“Yes, the rumours are true, we have parted ways.
It was important for me to be my authentic self.” The five-time Olympic gold medallist admitted he initially did not want to reveal his sexuality due to fear of disappointing his family and friends.
“Part of me didn't know if Australia wanted its champion to be gay.
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Ian Thorpe Comes Out as Gay: Australian Olympic Swimming Champion Says in TV Interview, "I'm Not Straight"
Australian swimming champion Ian Thorpe, a 5-time Olympic gold medalist and one of the coutnry's most celebrated Olympians, has revealed he is gay following years of media speculation about his sexuality and after previously stating in his autobiography that he was "attracted to women."
The 31-year-old, whose nickname is The Thorpedo, made his comments in a sit-down with veteran UK talk show host Michael Parkinson (pictured with him, below) in an interview that is airing on Australia's Network Ten channel on Sunday, July 13.
"You've always said that you're not gay.
'So every time it is alluded you may be gay, you're thinking of it as a negative thing and as a young person you make it bigger than it needs to be. (Pictured in 2000)
'I was always doing this interview with Sir Michael Parkinson. "I'm attracted to women, I love children and aspire to have a family one day."
He also added, "I'm not so naïve to say that I can't see the aesthetics in a good-looking man.
told the The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday that he kept his sexuality hidden because he didn't want any 'distractions' from his sporting career in the early 2000s.
'I had to swim the Olympics and had to win. I am telling not only Australia—I'm telling the world that I am and I hope this makes it easier for others now."
On Sunday, Thorpe thanked his fans for their support, in a tweet.
He also received praise from Latin pop star Ricky Martin, a father of twins who declared in 2010 that he is gay, and Nets center Jason Collins, who came out publicly in 2013, becoming the first openly gay NBA player.
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A definitive guide to Olympian Ian Thorpe’s recent romantic history
Ian Thorpe‘s name will forever be etched in Australian history as one of our greatest sporting legends.
But away from the pool and following his retirement from competitive swimming, first in 2006 and again in 2012 after a brief comeback, the 41-year-old hasn’t always had an easy relationship with love and romance.
When did Ian Thorpe come out?
It was the first time I felt I was comfortable enough to put myself out there. No," he said.
"For the record, I am not gay and all my sexual experiences have been straight," Thorpe wrote. It has all been very amicable.