Out Olympian Gus Kenworthy talks about
coming out in a The Advocate cover story.
The 25-year-old Kenworthy, who came out
soon after he won silver at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, is one
of just a handful of out athletes heading to the Olympic Winter
Games. A second out athlete on Team USA is figure skater Adam
Rippon.
(Related: Out
athlete Adam Rippon turned down Mike Pence meeting request.)
“Dating in the closet is torture,”
said Kenworthy, who is currently dating actor Matthew Wilkas (Gayby).
“It's one of the most difficult
things, especially if you are completely closeted. And I was, so I
had no one to talk to if something in the relationship was bothering
me or if I needed to vent,” he added.
Kenworthy also said that he was bullied
by a fellow skier before he came out.
“When I started to see my first
boyfriend, some of the guys in the industry gave us shit, because
suddenly we were hanging out all the time,” Kenworthy
explained. “But there was this one skier who would say really
fucked up shit, really rude comments. Actually, it was just
bullying.”
Kenworthy added that after he came out,
the skier called him to apologize.
“He was all choked up and said, 'I'm
so sorry, I didn't know all that time, and if I ever did, I wouldn't
have said anything.' It made me cry,” he said.
(Related: Gus
Kenworthy named P&G Winter Olympics brand ambassador.)