Actor Colton Haynes Comes Out

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly published yesterday,  27 year-old actor Colton Haynes officially came out. The announcement comes after months of social media speculation about the former Arrow and Teen Wolf star. Per EW,

A Tumblr post in January sparked an Internet firestorm after a fan commented on Haynes’ “secret gay past,”regarding racy modeling photos Haynes took while underage. Without giving it much thought, Haynes offered a coy reply: “Was it a secret?” The comment was picked up by bloggers as his coming out – but it wasn’t. Not yet.

“It was a complete shock. I wasn’t ready to be back in the headlines,” says Haynes, who is in fact gay but has never publicly addressed his sexuality (and, like many others on his path, took advice early in his career to subdue it). “I should have made a comment or a statement, but I just wasn’t ready. I didn’t feel like I owed anyone anything. I think in due time, everyone has to make those decisions when they’re ready, and I wasn’t yet. But I felt like I was letting people down by not coming forward with the rest of what I should have said.”

The article also talks Haynes’ struggle with anxiety, a main reason why he left the hit series Arrow in 2015. “I asked to step away because I cared more about my mental and physical health than my career at the time,” Haynes told EW. “I’ve had terminal anxiety my entire life. Physically ill, fainting. I’m 27 years old, and I have an ulcer. I had to step back.”  Haynes said keeping his sexuality under wraps didn’t exactly help with his anxiety. “People want you to be that GQ image that you put out, but people don’t realize what it’s like to act 24 hours a day. I’d go home and I was still acting,” he says gently. “People who are so judgmental about those who are gay or different don’t realize that acting 24 hours a day is the most exhausting thing in the world.”  After months off, the star says, ““I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and healthier than I’ve ever been, and that’s what I care about.”