Former Strictly Come Dancing star and Olympic swimmer Mark Foster was on today’s Loose Women to discuss why he kept his sexuality hidden for so many years.
The 47-year-old revealed that while his family and close friends knew he was gay, he never told any of his swimming colleagues or the public.
He came out this week in a Guardian interview.
Speaking today, Mark said: “Going back to when I was a kid, growing up, being gay was wrong. Typically it was you should meet a woman, get married, have kids, a house, and that’s how it worked, in a sense.
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“I suppose for me, when I started having feelings towards men, I was kind of going, well that’s wrong, I shouldn’t have these feelings.
“I had girlfriends too when I was younger, I just knew what I preferred.”
Mark said: “I met my first partner at 21 and was in a relationship for 19 years, then met somebody else and we were together for seven years.
“To my friends and family I was out, although it took me a long time to tell my mum – a couple of years, anyway. But when I went to work, swimming, my friends and colleagues there didn’t know.
“You get used to not sharing your full self with people because you worry you’ll be vulnerable and you’re afraid of what people might think and what outcome there could be regarding work or other bits and pieces.
Mark said he represented Britain for 23 years at senior level and although he got on well with the people he worked with, he didn’t talk to them about his private life.
He said there was a fear they’d think he fancied him and wouldn’t want to share a room with him. “You start processing that in the back of your mind and think, ‘Let’s just leave that down there and not talk about it’.”
Mark said there were multiple reasons why he’d decided now was the time to discuss his sexuality openly in public for the first time.
Those reasons included having a difficult year with the death of his beloved dad and splitting from his partner, leaving him needing to talk to somebody about his feelings.
There were also press rumours that he was dating fellow swimmer Rebecca Adlington
Mark said he went to a therapist which was a positive experience for him.
“I suddenly felt a weight coming off slowly,” he said. “It’s nice sharing things, which I’d never really got before. I was always holding it in.”
When asked how he feels now, he said: “I’m not saying I now skip down the street or anything like that. It’s one of those things that was always in the back of my mind holding me back. I was always telling part truths.
“If I’m with friends, I’m there and present, but in other places my subconscious was never completely there. I remember going on TV shows in the past and worrying I’d be asked about my other half.”
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Mark said that, ultimately, he wants to get men talking about issues.
“Men are very good at not talking about problems they might have. My message is, and my why now piece is, that I think guys should seek help if they need it. Going that extra step is good for your mental and physical health. Everything I’ve done has been around well being.”
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.