In an interview with The Guardian
published Saturday, Tan France, Queer Eye's fashion guy,
talked about coming out.
The 35-year-old France told the outlet
that he realized he was gay at 13 and started telling people three
years later.
“I knew I was gay, I just didn't know
the word,” France said. “There was never a time I was attracted
to women.”
“I wasn't a dramatic child. I
remember thinking, 'OK, that's a thing. I'm not going to try to
change it. I don't feel wrong.' I don't remember any adverse
feelings except, oh shit, you probably need to figure out how to hide
it,” he said.
When he began to study fashion at
Doncaster College at 16, France began coming out to friends and
family. He said his family was shocked. “They had planned a whole
heterosexual life for me, and it was just shocking to hear that plan
was never going to come to fruition,” France said.
France, who was unknown prior to the
show's launch, added that being on Queer Eye has given him a
platform to represent his community.
“The show has given me more than I’ll
ever know, and not just financially or in terms of fame,” France
said. “It put me in a position to represent my community in a way
that I had never seen. And, I’m not just talking about the gay
community, I’m talking about the Asian community.”
Netflix will begin streaming Queer
Eye season 3 on March 15.