Jonathan Knight Remained Closeted To Protect New Kids On The Block
- By
- On Top Magazine Staff
- | January 19, 2023
In a new interview, Jonathan Knight revealed that he remained closeted to protect New Kids on the Block.
Speaking with NSYNC stars Joey Fatone and Lance Bass on the Frosted Lips with Lance Bass podcast, Knight said that he feared coming out gay would end the boy band.
Knight said that keeping his sexuality a secret was “so much pressure” and that his manager had asked him to keep quiet.
“He pulled me aside and was like, 'If anybody finds out, your career is over. The New Kids' career is over. My career is over,'” Knight said, adding that the stress left him feeling like he was having a nervous breakdown.
Knight said that even as rumors about his sexuality circulated, he didn't want to publicly come out as gay.
“I didn't want to,” he said. “I was just living my life … It wasn't something I was hiding. But then it was like, 'No you have to make a statement. You have to clear the air.' And that whole process was horrible.”
After his ex-boyfriend Kyle Wilker in 2009 outed him, Knight wrote in a blog post that he has “never hidden the fact that I am gay.”
Knight, the host of HGTV's Farmhouse Fixer, is married to Harley Rodriguez.