Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning has spoken for the first time about how she realized she was “a big gay” and came out 19 months ago.
The actress, 38, who played stalker Martha in the Netflix hit, said it was like a secret that had been hidden for many years.
Jessica admitted that she didn’t think she could be gay, even though there were many signs throughout her life, such as when she kissed actress Cate Blanchett on stage every night during a National Theater production.
He now describes coming out as “liberating.”
Jessica explained: “I came out in November 2022. And that was a mega, mega thing for me because for so long… I’m surrounded by gays, like all my friends are gay, so it wasn’t like I was gay.” . repressing anything, it was just that he didn’t believe he could be.
‘I still can’t articulate it in the best way.
Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning has spoken for the first time about how she realized she was ‘a big gay’ and came out 19 months ago.
The actress, 38, who played stalker Martha in the Netflix hit, describes coming out as “liberating”.
Jessica continued: ‘But I realized he was a big old gay. I was like, “That’s what it’s been, that’s what it is.” And that was like a huge moment where everything clicked and then I made sense of myself.
‘Because for a long time I thought, “I know I’m a bigger woman,” and I thought maybe it had to do with my size that I felt a little bit almost strange or like it was following me.
“But as soon as I realized it, I was like, ‘No, that’s it,’ and that was the most liberating thing.”
Jessica surprised fans with her controversial role as Martha the Stalker in the Netflix series Baby Reindeer.
The series shows how Martha’s obsession develops as she emails Donny hundreds of times a day, appears outside his house, and harasses his family and friends. It is based on the real life experience of Richard Gadd.
Speaking about a particular special moment on the show, Jessica added: “There’s something really emotional in Baby Reindeer where Donny talks about sleeping at his parents’ house for the first time, and I told it to my family at Christmas that year and I like it”. I slept about ten hours that night.
“I thought, ‘Oh, that’s what this has been, it’s like a little secret that I guess I’ve even been keeping from myself.’ And not in a hateful kind of way. I never felt like I was repressing anything in a bad way, or that some reaction would be bad.
‘Looking back, I used to go downstairs and watch the L Word, that’s a bit of an eye-opener. So some of those things I really should have added up. I took my time.
Jessica admitted that she didn’t think she could be gay, even though there were many signs throughout her life, such as when she kissed actress Cate Blanchett on stage every night during a National Theater production.
Jessica surprised fans with her controversial role as Martha the Stalker in the Netflix series Baby Reindeer.
‘And again, looking at Take That saying ‘Shit, who fits in this picture?’ Again I should have known. And I used to wear dungarees, stereotypical, I know, fanny pack and backwards ‘No Fear’ cap when I was a teenager.
‘So everyone around me was probably saying, “When is it coming out?” And she took me 36 years.’
In an interview in 2014, before coming out, Jessica spoke about her appearance in the film Pride and the importance of the film’s message.
He explained how the film highlighted the gay community’s historic actions to rid the country of stigma around sexuality.
Jessica said: “We hope that this film, for the gay community, shows them that the struggle that people went through to not have to fight now is one of those moving moments.” Unfortunately, some of the issues shown and discussed in the film are still relevant now.’
Now, reflecting on that moment, Jessica said: ‘I should have known even when I did Pride (a historical comedy-drama based on a true story about a group of gay activists) because I cried all the time. I found it so emotional that I should have known then.
“And then I did a play with Cate Blanchett where I got to kiss her every night on stage. Again, I should have known then. All these signs from before the Reindeer stare me in the face.
The series shows how Martha’s obsession develops as she emails Donny hundreds of times a day, appears outside his house, and harasses his family and friends. It is based on the real life experience of Richard Gadd.
‘It has been incredible, very liberating and very grounding. In fact, I feel really calm.’
Speaking on the Reign podcast, he added: “I naively always used to think it would be something sexual. It’s not that you’re in any way saying ‘this is who I am.’ And it’s actually very emotional.
‘Some of my straight friends have said they envy that people can come out because it’s like a celebration of who you are.
“I think we’re reaching a time where we’ll never need to come out, but when you do it’s very revealing, but it’s also very charming because you’re saying ‘this is kind of my soul,'” you’re saying “This is who I am.” “.
‘And you’ll be able to have all those amazing chats with your loved ones. It’s really special. And many of my friends have shared that sometimes it wasn’t so easy and that is emotional too. “Everyone has been incredible, they have supported me a lot.”