Will Young, 45, reveals he is ‘enjoying dating again’ and has ‘rediscovered his libido’ after fears of falling in love and getting his heart broken

Will Young has revealed he’s ‘enjoying dating again’ and has ‘rediscovered his libido’ during an intimate chat on Jamie Laing‘s Great Company Podcast.

The 45-year-old Pop Idol star publicly came out as gay in 2002 at the age of 23. He said he was always afraid to fall in love again for fear of getting his heart broken.

But the hitmaker has now revealed that he has ‘met someone really nice’ and is excited to ‘open his heart again’.

Will, who recently released his ninth album Light It Up, said: ‘I’m in a relationship with someone who’s really nice at the moment, which is a very new experience for me because I’m quite closed off when it comes to relationships.

‘So, [relationships] were absolutely no pleasure for me.’

“Are you a sexual person?” Jamie asked.

Will replied, “Oh, I love sex, I’ve rediscovered it. I had a bit of a drought, but we all do. Libido’s back!”

The singer also admitted that he feels “terrible” in relationships because he has closed himself off due to heartbreak in the past.

He said, ‘Give me something to be successful at and I’ll do great. But relationships are my kryptonite because I’ve kept my heart closed to them.

“I think my heart is opening up, which is quite a new experience for me… which is nice at 45. I’m enjoying dating for the first time.”

Will also shared that being single has helped him find happiness within himself, rather than staying in a ‘lonely’ relationship.

He added: ‘Actually, you should be happy with yourself, and that took me a long time.

“There’s nothing lonelier than being in the wrong relationship. It’s the loneliest place in the world.”

This came after Will claimed that Pop Idol bosses told him to keep his sexuality a secret.

The singer came out publicly after winning the show, amid rumors that a newspaper would out him as gay.

In an interview at the time, Will explained: ‘For me it’s normal and I don’t have to be ashamed of anything. I’m gay and I feel comfortable with it. I really don’t understand what all the fuss is about.

‘I’m sure this won’t come as a surprise to many people, although I have always been discreet and not a campaigner when it comes to my sexuality.’

However, Will claims that the show’s bosses encouraged him not to reveal his homosexuality, telling them to ‘go to hell’.

Speak to Rylan on his new BBC Sounds podcast How to be in the spotlight, Will said: ‘I was told not to say anything. I just told them I wouldn’t.

‘I basically told them to “f**k off”. I said, “I didn’t spend all these years afraid of being kicked back in the f*****g closet!” I always thought it was just unnecessary stress.’

The star also revealed that he still tried to hide his sexuality later in his career, telling Rylan that a record company executive ordered him to re-record his biggest hit ‘because he sounded too gay.’

He said: ‘A record company executive said I sounded too gay on Leave Right Now, so I had to re-record the song.

‘I worked with Annie Lennox’s producer and we just sent him the same vocals again and he was like, “Yeah, great!”‘

‘In 2009 I made a beautiful black and white video, and at one point I’m dancing with a male mannequin and the record company wanted to cut that out of the video. Too gay!’

The Jealousy singer also opened up about the homophobic threats he received after coming out.

He described being followed and fearing for his life when he went out with his friend.

He said: ‘I felt quite exposed and you have to realise that gay bashing was a big f*****g thing back then.

‘Unfortunately, that’s still the case. And I was right to be a little scared, because people used to run after me and threaten to stab me and my boyfriend. It was horrible. But I wasn’t going to live a lie.’