Luke Evans broke down in tears as he recalled the incredibly emotional moment he told his strict Jehovah’s Witness parents he was gay.
The Welsh actor and singer, 45, who is in a relationship with boyfriend Fran Tomas, knew his sexuality from a very young age but was too afraid to come out to his parents Yvonne and David in case they ‘disowned’ him because of their religion.
He also admitted that he had an “extremely painful” childhood as he was bullied at school for being a Jehovah’s Witness and homosexual.
Speaking on the Gay Star News podcast, Luke described the trauma he endured after years of suffering in silence about his sexuality.
He said: ‘When I was born in 1979 I had very young parents. They recently became Jehovah’s Witnesses, that’s what their lives revolved around.’
“I knew from such a young age that if I wanted to live a happy life I had to leave and I knew I would have to lose people and start over,” he added.
Luke Evans, 45, broke down in tears as he recalled the incredibly emotional moment he told his strict Jehovah’s Witness parents he was gay
The Welsh actor and singer knew his sexuality from a very young age, but was too afraid to come out to his parents Yvonne and David in case they ‘disowned’ him because of their religion
Luke told of the time when, at the age of fourteen, he sought help from the Samaritans one evening after school.
He said: ‘I had been in the Yellow Pages at the age of 14 and I had enough money to have one consultation with this physiologist. My girlfriend at the time took me there, I confided in her that I had these feelings.
“I went to the Samaritans office and a very nice gay man opened the door and I sat with him. And he said very few words, he said, “You’re not alone, I’m a gay man and I’m very happy, I have a lot of friends, I have a good life and so do you. You’ll just have to get through it. ” .
“I went home and somehow got through the next two years knowing there were people like me. I just knew I had to leave the house and not hurt my parents. At thirteen or fourteen I knew I was clearly homosexual.’
Recalling the moment he came out to his mother, Luke was overcome with emotion as he read a chapter from his memoir, Boy From The Valleys: My Unexpected Journey.
He read: ‘After wandering around for over an hour we finally ended up at the bottom of our street. I was painfully aware that for my mother, what I just told her was essentially the same as holding my suicide note.
‘I was gay, so I would die in Armageddon. For her it was as simple as that.
‘I knew she wasn’t angry about the fact that I liked men, but because being gay meant that while she and Dad got to live in paradise on earth, they were going to lose me. It’s still something my parents think to this day.
He also admitted that he had an “extremely painful” childhood as he was bullied at school for being a Jehovah’s Witness and homosexual.
Speaking on the Gay Star News podcast, Luke described the trauma he endured after suffering in silence for years about his sexuality
Recalling the moment he came out to his mother, Luke was overcome with emotion as he read a chapter from his memoir, Boy From The Valleys: My Unexpected Journey.
“Mom tried to bring up religion during our conversation. As a Jehovah’s Witness it was her duty to protect the flock from bad apples and as an openly gay man I was among the worst of humanity.
“Part of me was still afraid that my mother would turn her back on me, but over the course of that conversation I came to believe that wouldn’t be the case.”
He started to tear up and continued, “When we got home, Mommy took me in her arms and I felt so . . .”
He struggled to get the words out and said, “Sorry.”
As he continued reading the book, he said, “I felt so much love and acceptance in that hug and I started to cry.
“As I lay in bed that night, my overwhelming emotion was one of relief. Finally, one of the two people I love most in the world knew the real me.
‘Mum now understood the trauma I had suffered over the years. I no longer had to hide about who I really was.”
Luke said: ‘It’s really hard to read. I’ve read it so many times and I still have to go back to that moment.
Luke is in a relationship with boyfriend Fran Tomas (pictured together last week)
‘There are so many moments. You came back into the moment, it was euphoric in a way because she didn’t turn her back on me. I was ready to be thrown out, but that didn’t happen.’
When asked what his childhood was like, Luke replied: ‘Extremely painful. It made me angry that I couldn’t talk about it. I was a skinny kid, I wasn’t competitive, I wasn’t good at any sports, I was one of two Jehovah’s Witnesses boys in a school of 500 students.
‘I was the one who was bullied, I was called ‘Jovy’, Jehovah’s Witnesses jargon.
“No matter how nice I tried to be nice, no one wanted to hang out with me. The boys were terrible and made my schooling unpleasant every day of my school life.’
Luke and Fran have been dating since the summer of 2019 and made their red carpet debut as a couple at the LuisaViaRoma for the UNICEF Winter Gala in St. Barts in December 2022.
Their romance first came to light in May following his split from art director Rafael Olarra.