Lance Bass Comes Out With The Truth: He's Gay
Thursday July 27, 2006 @ 06:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Lance Bass

It was just last week when Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes came out to the public that he was gay, and now another previously successful pop star has joined him. The rumours can stop now that former *NSYNC member Lance Bass has revealed his true sexual orientation.

"The thing is, I'm not ashamed," Bass told People magazine in the issue that comes out on Friday. "I don't think it's wrong.

"I'm not devastated going through this. I'm more liberated and happy than I've been in my whole life. I'm just happy."

Rumours about Bass' sexuality have been around since *NSYNC ruled radio, but speculation increased again in recent months when he was repeatedly seen with 32-year-old former Air Force captain, gay rights activist, model, The Amazing Race 4 winner, actor, writer and television show host, Reichen Lehmkuhl.

Lehmkuhl responded to the media in April by posting on his website that, "as for the rumors about me and Lance, please continue to remind people that things that I do not discuss anymore, such as the private and personal relationships that I have, are just that — private — unless I choose to open up with details to my family and close friends for reasons of support and love."

Bass, 27, told People that the rumours were starting to affect his "daily life," which prompted his revelation that he's in a "very stable" relationship with Lehmkuhl. "I'm at peace with my family, my friends, myself and God, so there's nothing else that I worry about."

Bass, who dated women until he was 22, felt that coming out would hurt *NSYNC when the boy band were at their peak. "I had four other guys' careers in my hand, and I knew that if I ever acted on it or even said [that I was gay], it would overpower everything."

While Bass' former music mates have been supportive, his family was another story. His sister cried when he told her he was gay and his mother "broke down" because she found out through the internet. His father was concerned about AIDS and quoted statistics about homosexual relationships not lasting, said the aspiring actor.

Bass, who at one point underwent cosmonaut training in Russia and tried to raise enough money to go into space, is developing a sitcom pilot with former *NSYNCer Joey Fatone. The premise was inspired by The Odd Couple, but Bass' character is gay.

—Arti Patel