Speaking with Pride Source months after revealing that he is bisexual, Jason Mraz reflected on his coming out journey and explained why it took a long time for him to speak the truth about his sexuality. Although he knew from a younger age that he was bisexual, Mraz said that he was afraid to come out of the closet for fear of hurting his family.
“I wanted to be careful [because of] my family, which is probably a struggle a lot of people have. And when I say this, it’s not because they wouldn’t love me for who I am,” he explained. He revealed that growing up, he didn’t have the safe space to live his truth and explore his sexuality. “It was just growing up in a kind of community where I didn’t feel safe to go down that path and explore some intuitions that I had. So I closeted it. I suppressed it. I put it aside.”
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But things changed once he grew older. As Mraz started to have more experiences in life and meet certain people, he realized that there was nothing wrong with being himself and learned to finally embrace his identity. He shared, “The more I became supported and supportive of the LGBT [community], I realized I was safe, I was home.” Mraz said he hopes to inspire other people with his story. “If I was really going to use my superpower for good, it was time for me to start addressing who I am, because authenticity is the new reality.”
