Kelly Holmes

The two-time gold medal-winning Olympic champion feels like she is 'finally free' having shared her sexuality with the world after hiding it for 25 years. Dame ...

Love who you want to love.’ I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement.’ Dame Kelly admitted she struggled with her mental health because of having to hide her sexuality, and that she had to keep several same-sex relationships she had during her time in the Women’s Royal Army Corps secret, for fear of being court marshalled. Until 2000, it was illegal for gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve in the British Army, Royal Navy and RAF – and Dame Kelly feared she would still face repercussions for breaking that law during her time in the forces. ‘I needed to do this now, for me,’ she stated. Dame Kelly Holmes has been praised after coming out as gay at the age of 52 during Pride month with many expressing their pride in their role model.

'The moment this comes out, I'm essentially getting rid of that fear.'

One little call could have saved 28 years of heartache." "But they said they knew anyway. I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement. They don't know me any different." She told the Sunday Mirror newspaper: "I needed to do this now, for me. She said: "I was convinced throughout my whole life that if I admitted to being gay in the Army I'd still be in trouble."

The 52-year-old Olympic champion revealed that she came out to her family and friends in 1997.

I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement. The 52-year-old Olympian also revealed she had struggled with her mental health because of having to hide her sexuality, and that she had to keep several same-sex relationships she had during her time in the Women’s Royal Army Corps secret, for fear of being court-martialled. She told the Sunday Mirror: “I needed to do this now, for me.

Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes has come out as gay at the age of 52 and said she can "finally breathe".

Speaking of her decision to come out now, she said: "I needed to do this now, for me. I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement. "I have lived in fear for 34 years and I am exhausted and don’t want to anymore," she wrote on Instagram. Ahead of the release of her documentary 'Kelly Holmes: Being Me', where she talks to LGBTQ+ soldiers about their lives in the military now, the runner revealed she has been living in "fear". The two-time gold medal winning Olympic champion said she had been "petrified" of announcing her sexuality but said she is "finally free to be me". Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes has come out as gay at the age of 52 and said she can "finally breathe".

Olympic legend Dame Kelly Holmes has come out at the age of 52 and is grateful to be breaking the news on her own terms.

She said: "I couldn’t go to a counsellor because if I tell them I’m gay they might tell someone. She added: "I said I met a girl and I don't know what to do. She said: "I was listening with my mouth wide open, you'll get done for being homophobic now rather than being gay. I was confused and a bit scared of what it meant and nervous to tell him. When she was 23, Kelly's quarters were searched by Royal Military Police in a check which she believed was to root out secret lesbians. "I’d think, ‘No one talks about it in the sport, how do I suddenly say I’m gay? She said: "It was an era where the stigma of homosexuality was really bad because of the AIDS epidemic. Wearing a white blazer and white flared trousers, she told the Mirror: "I needed to do this now, for me. It felt more natural, I felt comfortable." And behind her beaming smile, she has lived a "secret life" for decades. Yet sexuality was not even on her radar when she dated boys as a teenager in Hildenborough, Kent. Fully aware of rumours about her sexuality and after years of pain, Dame Kelly is grateful to break the news on her own terms.

Speaking during Pride month, the two-time gold medal-winning Olympic champion said she realised she was gay at the age of 17 after kissing a fellow female ...

I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement. She told the Sunday Mirror: “I needed to do this now, for me. Dame Kelly, 52, also revealed she struggled with her mental health because of having to hide her sexuality, and that she had to keep several same-sex relationships she had during her time in the Women’s Royal Army Corps secret, for fear of being court marshalled.

Olympic gold medalist, Dame Kelly Holmes has received an outpouring of praise after the 52-year-old athlete announced that she publically announced that she ...

Fear alerts us to the presence of danger or the threat of harm, whether that danger is physical or psychological." She also recounted an incident where the British Military Police raided her accommodation in what she believes was an attempt to out her. Holmes added on her Instagram account: "This is not new to me, it’s about me Being Me. I hope you will all read the story and show compassion to me and those around you that may struggle with fear every day!

The English sporting superstar turned to the Sunday Mirror to come out at the age of 52.

“I was listening with my mouth wide open,” she says. She says: “I couldn’t go to a counsellor because if I tell them I’m gay they might tell someone. “I felt like I could breathe again,” Kelly sighs. I felt stuck in this world where I can’t talk to someone. Kelly was made a Dame in 2005. “I’d think, ‘No one talks about it in the sport, how do I suddenly say I’m gay? A fellow soldier kissed her at the bathroom block and, says Kelly: “I realised I must be gay then, because it felt good. “Everyone knew who was gay, but you’d never talk about it,” she says. But I felt the law was wrong. But by 2003, aged 33, she was plagued with injuries and her mental health plummeted. Yet, says Kelly, sexuality was not even on her radar when she dated boys as a teenager in Hildenborough, Kent. I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement.

Britain's double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes has revealed she is gay, saying she was nervous and excited about coming out in a move that could have saved ...

Advertisement I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement," Holmes told the Sunday Mirror newspaper. Advertisement

Speaking during Pride month, the two-time Olympic gold medal winner said she realised she was gay at the age of 17 after kissing a fellow female soldier, and ...

On retirement she has became a motivational speaker, written books, and is a familiar figure on TV. Kelly’s story shows that overcoming stigma to live proudly and authentically can take decades, and at huge personal cost. She contacted a military LGBTQ+ leader in 2020 to find out if she could be sanctioned for breaking army rules and was told she would not be.

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes has come out as gay at the age of 52 and the news has been met with an outpouring of support from fellow ...

Read More I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement. Be happy being you".

Speaking during Pride month, the two-time gold medal winning Olympic champion said she realised she was gay at the age of 17 after kissing a fellow woman ...

She has also started to make a documentary about her experiences called Being Me, where she talks to LGBTQ+ soldiers about their lives in the military now. She contacted a military LGBTQ+ leader in 2020 to find out if she could be sanctioned for breaking army rules and was told she would not be. “I needed to do this now, for me,” she told the Sunday Mirror. “It was my decision.

The 52-year-old reveals how she struggled with mental health as she had to keep several same-sex relationships she had during her time in the Women's Royal ...

She contacted a military LGBTQ+ leader in 2020 to find out if she could be sanctioned for breaking army rules and was told she would not be. I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement,” Holmes told the Sunday Mirror newspaper. Until 2000, it was illegal for gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve in the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force (RAF), but the law has since been changed.

Olympic gold medallist reveals fears of court martial in army and toll on her mental health as she lifts 34-year public silence.

“It can be harder if you feel like you have been living a lie with people very close to you, and people worry about sending a signal that they didn’t trust those around them.” Holmes said that when she first realised she was gay, in 1988, Britain was gripped by the Aids panic, which stigmatised gay people. “I needed to do this now, for me,” she told the Sunday Mirror. “It was my decision. “The ban in the army had only been lifted four years [before] and I had never asked anyone if there was any sort of retribution if I said something. I had wanted to be in the armed forces since I was 14 and was desperate to stay in, so couldn’t let them know. Holmes, who realised she was a lesbian when she kissed a fellow female soldier in the army in 1988, told the Sunday Mirror: “It was illegal to be gay in the army.

Britain's double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes received an outpouring of support from fellow Olympians after she announced she was gay in a newspaper ...

I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement," Holmes told the The Sunday Mirror. "I needed to do this now, for me. The former middle-distance runner received an outpouring of support from fellow Olympians following her announcement in a newspaper interview.

Interior designer Kelly Hoppen, comedian Alan Carr and singer Boy George were among those she confided in, with them urging her to “be herself”. The athlete has ...

They haven’t lived through the 80s with the stigmatisation, they weren’t in the army, it was never illegal for them to be gay. “I found the guts to say, ‘I need to tell you this to get it off my shoulders’. She was awesome. “People have to be ready to do it. Even after the law was abolished in 2000, she remained silent, terrified of being retrospectively punished. It’s not a world everyone is yet comfortable with – some people’s friends, families, religions, cultures don’t allow it.” Then you can start remodelling your life. I could have spoken up about LGBT causes and not be misheard or misread.” But seeing them did allow me to think, OK, they’re still being accepted now they’ve come out.” Her terror was rooted in laws that meant LGBTQ+ servicemen and women faced losing medals, being court-martialled and jailed. “It means more to me than you’ll ever know and I’ll try to uphold the respect of all those who wrote to me and I’ll do my utmost to be a strong and determined voice in support of everyone’s cause.” He said, ‘you deserve to be you’. The athlete has revealed serving in the army in the 90s – when it was illegal for members of the forces to be gay –instilled in her a fear of living openly.

The 52-year-old famously won two Olympic gold medals over 800m and 1500m at Athens 2004 and became Commonwealth champion in the 1500m at Victoria 1994 and ...

“This journey has been the hardest part of life. Amidst all the success, Holmes wished that she was able to tell the world about her sexuality. I hope those that read my story will help me through this next scary phase but also be there for others.” So here it is, the start of a new chapter in my long life book. Holmes also secured three world and two European medals, in a glittering career where she held both the British 800m and 1500m records until Keely Hodgkinson and Laura Muir broke them respectively. I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement.

Olympian Kelly Holmes has announced that she is gay, saying she "needed to do this now". Speaking during Pride month, the two-time gold medal winning ...

I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement. She told a newspaper: "I needed to do this now, for me. The moment this comes out, I'm essentially getting rid of that fear."

The Olympic runner received an outpouring of support from both her followers and celebrities after she spoke about her sexuality for the first time.

'It was pride month (as is this month) but nothing really to do with the rainbow. Kelly had relationships with other women during her 10 years in service. 'So here it is, the start of a new chapter in my long life book. Army: She explained how her family and close friends have known for years she is gay but she worried about being in trouble for breaching retrospective rules in the Forces (Dame Kelly in her Colonel role at Trooping the Colour) Firstly THANK YOU - The support has been overwhelming- I actually don’t think I can take it all in and process it right now! I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement.

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She told the Sunday Mirror: “I needed to do this now, for me. She recalled an instance in which the Royal Military Police searched her accommodation in what she believed to be an attempt to uncover evidence of her sexuality. I feel like I’m going to explode with excitement. She expressed her anxiety that she would be penalised for being lesbian and serving in the Army in her interview with the Mirror. It was unlawful for gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve in the British Army, Royal Navy or RAF until 2000, and she felt she would still face consequences for breaching the law while in the military. Dame Kelly also said that having to hide her sexuality had a negative impact on her mental health, and that she had to hide multiple same-sex relationships she had while serving in the Women’s Royal Army Corps for fear of being court marshalled.

Britain's double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes has announced she is gay, saying she was nervous and excited about coming out in a move that could have saved ...

I feel like I'm going to explode with excitement," Holmes told the Sunday Mirror newspaper. "I needed to do this now, for me. "I was convinced throughout my whole life that if I admitted to being gay in the army I'd still be in trouble," Kelly said.