15 Women Who Were UNKNOWINGLY In Relationships With Gay Men!
15.
Judy Garland Though it was her role as Dorothy in The Wizard
of Oz which made her a part of history forever, Judy Garland would have been a star no matter
how things shook out for her - it came as naturally as breathing.
This made her a cultural icon for many reasons, but she was perhaps most widely known as an
icon for gay men in America.
This infatuation with Garland might be what drove Vincente Minnelli to fall in love with
Judy Garland and eventually marry her, despite being a gay man himself.
Because of societal pressures and the desire to remain active and working in Hollywood,
Minnelli never officially came out of the closet.
Nevertheless, it’s considered a poorly kept secret now that he was gay.
Despite this, he did seem to truly love Garland, and the two had a child together.
14.
Liza Minnelli Having a career spanning more than six decades
is no small feat, and Liza Minnelli has made it look easy.
Maybe that’s because being a star runs in her blood - Minnelli is the daughter of famous
actress Judy Garland, after all.
However, being a star isn’t the only thing which runs in her blood, apparently.
So does marrying gay men - and probably not knowing it at the time.
Just like her mother, Minnelli married at least one gay man - Peter Allen.
He was her first husband, and he actually had an affair with Mark Herron, who was was
married to Liza’s mother Judy at the time.
There were rumors that Liza’s fourth husband, David Gest, was gay as well.
These, however, were never confirmed, as Gest passed away shortly after marrying Liza.
13.
Fran Drescher Although Fran Drescher is now divorced from
her husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, the two still in many ways behave as a couple.
While their split was amicable, the cause had an effect on Drescher which she still
acknowledges.
Her husband, it turned out, was gay.
He realized this after more than 20 years of marriage, and Fran says it’s made her
think hard about many of their past interactions - wondering if he knew he was gay when they
were experiencing pivotal moments such as their wedding.
Nevertheless, the two have since transitioned from spouses to best friends, and still work
together in the production business.
After all, Jacobson helped Drescher create the role for which she is best known - The
Nanny.
12.
Danielle Fishel Although the two were never married, perhaps
one of the most famous examples of a star finding out that her lover is gay is the case
of Danielle Fishel and Lance Bass.
Fishel is of course best known for her role as Topanga in Boy Meets World, where Bass
will forever be enshrined as a member of the boy band NSYNC.
The two dated for a year, and Fishel claimed many times that she was in love with Bass.
This was why it was a bit of a shock when the two split up, but Fishel now recounts
what the real cause of that was.
She’d found out that Bass was gay - long before he officially came out to the public.
After that revelation, the two knew that they didn’t have much of a romantic future, but
nevertheless remain close friends and see each other often to this day.
11.
Star Jones The divorce of Star Jones and Al Reynolds
is perhaps the most scrutinized portion of their marriage - it was highly publicized
and reported on throughout the entire process.
This was for many reasons - specifically regarding the animosity which came to light between
the two.
However, many have speculated that the true reason for the split is that Al Reynolds came
out as gay to Star.
This rumor, while persistent, has never been confirmed by either party involved, and Reynolds
still claims to be dating women.
10.
Rebecca de Alba There’s not much info available about the
relationship between Mexican TV presenter Rebecca de Alba and world-famous musician
and songwriter Ricky Martin, but the recent revelation that Martin is gay does shed some
light on comments made both publicly and privately between the two.
De Alba recently claimed that “something very personal” had taken place between the
two and she felt that Ricky Martin had “turned his back” on her, and that she’d supported
him in a very difficult and critical time.
We can only speculate now, but it seems pretty likely that this troubling time was when Ricky
Martin came out as gay to de Alba, and she felt betrayed as a result.
Ricky, of course, had long denied gay rumors - even facing a direct question from Barbara
Walters in an interview and sidestepping the question rather than answering openly.
9.
Carrie Fisher The breakout Star Wars star Carrie Fisher
might have been the object of young boys’ fantasies the world over, but that didn’t
stop her longtime romantic partner Bryan Lourd from leaving her after coming out as gay.
Though the couple were never married, Fisher had been with Lourd for more than three years
when he dropped the bombshell of his true sexuality on her.
Fisher claimed in her memoir that Lourd told her she “turned him gay by taking codeine
again”, and that the split was very hard on her.
The relationship was definitely one of the most significant in her life, and Fisher claimed
to have felt humiliated and betrayed in the wake of the experience.
8.
Terry McMillan Few stories smack more of the ‘90s than
How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
That book and the film which followed will most likely evoke strong feelings of nostalgia
in anyone who was older than, say 14, when it came out.
Few people know, though, that the man who was Terry McMillan’s love interest at the
time she was writing the novel - and the inspiration for the book itself - was a man who would
later come out as gay.
It’s true, though - McMillan’s younger husband Jonathan Plummer was the source of
those feelings, but nothing lasts forever and the two suffered a very public, very brutal
divorce after Plummer told McMillan that he was gay.
Nevertheless, all these years later, McMillan speaks fondly of Plummer and says she would
do it all over again.
7.
Carolyn Moos In 2013, NBA star Jason Collins shocked the
world when he came out as gay - this made him the first openly gay athlete in a major
American sport - and changed perceptions of social norms in the sports that we all know
and love.
However, one person who many didn’t think about in all of the commotion was Carolyn
Moos, who was Collins’ fiancee and the woman he claimed was his soul mate a few short years
before.
She says that she found out the truth about her ex-fiancee at the same time as everyone
else - when the story hit the newsstands.
The two had been together for more than 8 years before Collins called off their wedding.
Though she didn’t have an explanation for the sudden change of heart at the time - and
Collins didn’t provide one - she now knows that the real reason was Collins had discovered
his own sexuality.
6.
Berry Berenson Beloved actress, photographer, and model Berry
Berenson is a great example of a woman who didn’t know her husband was leading a double
life.
Her other half, the infamous star of the Psycho movie franchise Anthony Perkins, is now widely
known to have had affairs with a great many men in Hollywood, though he was never openly
gay during his lifetime.
Nevertheless, the stories remain and it’s considered to be widely established that Perkins
was gay and had these affairs while married to Berenson.
The two had children together, but because of the political and societal climate at the
time, Perkins never chose to reveal his true sexuality to the public.
5.
Marilyn Rosenberger Being the spouse of one of the most famous
people on television is bound to be a pretty interesting life.
Such was the case for Marilyn Rosenberger, whose husband was the famous Robert Reed - star
of The Brady Bunch as Mike Brady.
However, it’s come to light after the fact that Robert Reed was gay throughout the entirety
of his career - including when he was starring on The Brady Bunch.
This was a fact that Rosenberger was likely aware of, as even his costars knew about it
at the time.
Nevertheless, the couple had one child together before their divorce in 1959.
It’s not known what role, if any, Reed’s orientation played in the split.
4.
Suzanne Thompson Nowadays the stereotype of a politician who
is openly anti-homosexuality and stands against gay rights turning out to have been involved
in some kind of homosexual extramarital affair is almost too cliche to comment on, but the
case of Larry Craig is one of the reasons that story is so pervasive.
Craig had faced numerous accusations regarding drug use and his sexuality previously, but
married Suzanne Thompson in 1983 and the rumors went to bed for a while.
However, in 2007 Craig was arrested for lewd conduct in a men’s restroom, and resigned
after the details of the incident came to light.
It seems that Craig was involved with a gay man in a public bathroom.
After the details came out, numerous other gay men claimed they’d had sexual contact
with Craig.
Craig still denies being gay, and Suzanne Thompson says she believes he was faithful
to her, despite the allegations.
3.
Dina McGreevey In another infamous case of a politician coming
out as having had extramarital relations which don’t align with his previously public sexuality,
New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey’s separation from his wife and inevitable divorce rocked
the public’s perception of the couple.
McGreevey openly admitted to being gay, but his actions leading up to the announcement
and his behavior during the divorce left his ex-wife, Dina McGreevey, feeling pretty angry.
She claims she knew nothing of her husband’s true nature before the scandal came to light.
2.
Brooke Shields While Brooke Shields was still very young
- and apparently still a virgin - she had a relationship with recently deceased and
world-famous musician and songwriter George Michael.
Though it seems hard to believe in retrospect, there was once a time when Michael was not
openly gay, and his relationship with Shields took place during that time.
Shields thought that his lack of interest in being with her sexually was actually restraint
on his part, borne of respect for her wish to protect her first time, though she now
chalks this up to naivety on her part.
1.
Kris Jenner There is perhaps no better example of a person’s
sexuality ultimately affecting their marriage than the case of Kris Jenner and Bruce Jenner.
Bruce, who of course is now known as Caitlyn Jenner, was married to Kris for more than
20 years, and it was only in 2015 that Bruce came out as a trans woman and began his gender
transition.
Caitlyn has confirmed that she would have transitioned sooner if not for her romance
with Kris - she’d been cross dressing and taking hormone replacement therapy back in
the ‘90s and stopped when things became serious with Kris.
The two split in 2013, citing irreconcilable differences, and it was in 2015 that Bruce
began his transition.