Illusionist Derren Brown, 55, has spoken candidly about his struggle to accept his sexuality, revealing he attempted to “train” himself out of being gay after a Christian upbringing. The BAFTA award-winner attended Bible classes from the age of five and declared himself asexual during his teenage years before becoming an evangelical Christian. By 2007, at the age of 31, he had come out as gay.
Coming Out in the Public Eye
Brown told The Sun: “Coming out when you are in the public eye is one of those things that isn't an issue to yourself, your friends and your family. But you have to be open and upfront. You should always come out; life is so much easier. People generally aren't as bothered by your intimate secrets as you are.”
Reflecting on his Christian past, Brown told the Daily Beast in 2017: “As a Christian, it opened up the weird world of them trying to cure you. I didn't go through it, but I skimmed the surface. I had a gay friend who was much more into it. He's still gay, just more disillusioned with the church. There was never anybody that it actually worked for.”
Conversion Therapy Meetings
Brown attended a meeting for a conversion ‘therapy’ group, which was stormed by LGBTQ+ activists. He told Premier Christianity: “Although I think it’s tragically misguided, what was interesting is the Church trying to engage with something that might be painful and difficult for young people rather than just saying ‘Go away and read your Bible’. They were saying there’s a spiritual model for this and here’s something you can engage with and we want to listen to you. That’s great on the one hand. On the other hand, I think it brings pain and damage with it. There was never any real evidence that it worked.”
Brown later admitted to using his career as a way to disguise his sexuality, saying on Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast that he was “literally hiding behind a magic trick.” He said: “I think magic's very good for that as well, you're creating this bubble around yourself, literally hiding behind a trick and people will look at that trick and go, 'Oh gosh you're amazing'. I think all of that was helpful to me, as somebody that was not 'out' and working all of that stuff out. The reason why it's [coming out] liberating is that people just don't care. That shameful centre that's there... when you're open about it, why would they care?”
Life Now
Now an atheist, Brown has devoted one of his shows to debunking the myth of “miracles” being performed. The star keeps his personal life private. In 2007 he was dating designer Marc Hagan Guirey, but the pair split after eight years. He later told The Times in 2022 that he left London for a life in the countryside with his partner Justin and their dogs, Humbug and Doodle. Brown said: “Our house now is very old and cold with an oil tank that runs out — but it’s all good. I don’t miss London at all.” His London home used to feature a huge portrait of Justin in the living room, painted by Brown himself.
