Duncan James Explains Why He Needs to Be Visible

Duncan James is one of the best-known out personality in the media today; but it hasn't always been this way. In a conversation with Rylan Clark�on Clark's podcast�"Ry-Union," the musician opened up about the difficulties he faced in addressing his sexuality publicly, the Independent reports.

"I think being in such a public boy band, with the majority of fans being female, it was really hard for me to actually have the courage to come out," he said, "because I was scared on so many different levels on so many different things."

And it wasn't as if he was sure. "And, to be honest, I didn't quite understand too much about my own sexuality at that time, I was just really confused."

James was the lead singer of Blue, the British boy band that released three albums and 16 singles from 2000 through 2005. At that time the group went into hiatus as its members chose to pursue solo careers. But in 2011 they reunited as the British entry in the European Song Contest, coming in 11th place. Nonetheless, James said at the time: "It won't be the last of us – we're all fully committed to this band again." Since then they released two more albums before disbanding again in 2019 only to come back together for a new tour they announced in November 2021 to celebrate their 20th anniversary.

On his own, James has released solo music, appeared in numerous television shows, and starred on the West End in 'Chicago" and "Legally Blonde." Most recently he appeared on "The Celebrity Circle," a high-profile version of Netflix's hit reality show.

Recently he posted an IG selfie in a locker room wearing a towel, writing: "Not too shabby for nearly 44."

In his personal life, James had a daughter, Tianie Finn, with his former girlfriend Claire Grainger whom he dated from 2002 to 2005. She was born February 2005. He came out as bisexual in 2009. Three years later he told his bandmate Simon Webbe he was gay. In 2014 he came out as gay, telling Gay Star News: " 'I think to myself, I sleep with men, so that makes me gay. Regardless of whether I sleep with women or not, I'm still sleeping with men so I'm gay.

"So I'm still attracted to women, I could still easily sleep with a woman. I haven't in the last couple of years but I think if I meet a girl I could still have a relationship with her."

He continued: "I could still be romantically and sexually attracted involved with a girl. But I still call myself gay. I'm a gay guy. I like men, so that makes me gay."

In 2019, James went public with his relationship with his Brazilian boyfriend Rodrigo Reis, the Evening Standard reported.

Confirming their relationship, the former Blue singer explained that he kept his sexuality a secret for years, adding: "Finally, I'm happy in my skin."

The pair remain together, though do not live together. Last year James spoke to the Daily Mail about how they are managing, despite the distance and the pandemic. "[Rodrigo]�lives in Belgium, he has a job there. We have a long-distance relationship but we make it work."

"We didn't have any kind of television programmes that embraced the LGBT+ community back then, you know," he said. "There was no�'RuPaul's Drag Race,' there was no TV shows like�'It's A Sin,'" he told Clark on the podcast.

"You know, I think the closest thing we got to anybody being a gay icon was Nadia (Almada) from 'Big Brother.' She was the original in many ways."

He continued: "It wasn't until, I guess, people were being visible on our screens that it gave me the kind of strength and the courage to actually think, 'Right, I need to be visible too'."

Check out his funny makeover on IG amongst his thirst traps: