Luke Evans broke down in tears as he recalled the incredibly emotional moment he told his strict Jehovah’s Witness parents he was gay.
The Welsh actor and singer, 45, who is in a relationship with his boyfriend Fran Tomas, knew his sexuality from a very young age but was too afraid to confess it to his parents, Yvonne and David, in case they ‘disowned’ him for his religion. .
He also admitted that he suffered an “extremely painful” childhood, as he had been bullied at school for being a Jehovah’s Witness and gay.
Speaking on the Gay Star News podcast, Luke described the trauma he endured after suffering for years in silence about his sexuality.
He said: ‘When I was born in 1979, I was born to very young parents. They were recently Jehovah’s Witnesses and their life revolved around that.’
“From a very young age I knew that if I wanted to have a happy life I had to leave and I knew I would have to lose people and start over,” he added.
Luke Evans, 45, broke down in tears as he recalled the incredibly emotional moment he told his strict Jehovah’s Witness parents he was gay.
The Welsh actor and singer knew his sexuality from a very young age but was too afraid to tell his parents, Yvonne and David, in case they ‘disowned’ him for his religion.
Luke spoke of the time he sought help from the Samaritans one night after school at the age of 14.
He said: ‘I had been in the yellow pages at 14 and had enough money to go to a consultation with this physiologist. My friend at the time took me there and I confessed that I had these feelings.
‘I went to the Samaritans office and a very nice gay man opened the door and I sat with him. And he said very few words, he said: “You are not alone, I am a gay man and I am very happy, I have many friends, I have a good life and you will too. You will have to move forward.” .
‘I came home and somehow spent the next two years knowing there were people like me. I just knew I needed to get out of the house and not hurt my parents. At 13 or 14 I knew I was clearly gay.’
Recalling the moment he came out to his mother, Luke was overcome with emotion as he read a chapter of his memoir, Boy From The Valleys: My Unexpected Journey.
It read: ‘After wandering for over an hour, we finally ended up at the end of our street. I was painfully aware that to my mother what I just told her was actually like holding my suicide note in her hand.
‘I was gay, so I would die at Armageddon. For her it was as simple as that.
“I knew she wasn’t upset because I liked men, but because being gay meant that while she and Dad were living in paradise on earth, they were going to lose me. It’s still something my parents think to this day.” today.
He also admitted that he suffered an “extremely painful” childhood, as he had been bullied at school for being a Jehovah’s Witness and gay.
Speaking on the Gay Star News podcast, Luke described the trauma he endured after suffering for years in silence about his sexuality.
Recalling the moment he told his mother, Luke was overcome with emotion as he read a chapter of his memoir, Boy From The Valleys: My Unexpected Journey.
‘Mom tried to bring up religion during our conversation. As a Jehovah’s Witness, it was his duty to protect the flock from the bad apples, and as an openly gay man, he was up there with the worst of humanity.
“Part of me was still afraid that my mother would turn her back on me, but during the course of that conversation I began to believe that she wouldn’t.”
Beginning to cry, she continued, “When we returned home, Mom took me in her arms and I felt so…”
Struggling to get the words out, he said, “I’m sorry.”
Continuing to read the book, she said: ‘I felt so much love and acceptance in that hug and I started to cry.
‘That night, as I lay in bed, my overwhelming emotion was relief. Finally one of the two people I love most in the world met the real me.
‘Mum now understood the trauma she had suffered over the years. I no longer needed to hide who I really was.’
Luke said: “It’s really hard to read.” I’ve read it so many times and it still reminds me of that moment.
Luke is in a relationship with his boyfriend Fran Tomas (pictured together last week)
‘There are so many moments. You turned around instantly, it was euphoric in a way because she didn’t turn her back on me. I was ready to get kicked out and that didn’t happen.’
When asked what his childhood was like, Luke said: “Extremely painful.” It made me angry that I couldn’t talk about it. I was a skinny kid, I wasn’t competitive, I wasn’t good at any sport, I was one of two Jehovah’s Witness kids in a school of 500 students.
‘I was the one who was bullied, they called me “Jovy”, Jehovah’s Witness slang.
‘As much as I tried to be nice, no one wanted to mix with me. The boys were horrible and made my schooling unpleasant every day of my school existence.’
Luke and Fran have been dating since summer 2019 and made their red carpet debut as a couple at the LuisaViaRoma Winter Gala for UNICEF in St Barts in December 2022.
Their romance first came to light in May following her split from art director Rafael Olarra.