Chris Appleton has opened up about the guilt and shame he felt when he came out as gay. The 41-year-old celebrity hairstylist, currently competing on Strictly Come Dancing, did not come out until he was 26 in 2009.
By that time, Chris had two children, a son Billy and a daughter Kitty-Blue, with his long-term girlfriend Katie Katon. He admitted he thought he had life "all figured out."
Struggles after coming out
Speaking on Bethenny Frankel's podcast Just B in 2024, Chris explained he had been in a relationship with the mother of his children for nine years before he realised he was gay.
"I think coming out later on in life – I was 26 – was incredibly difficult because I had two kids, I had a partner I'd been with for nine years, I thought I had it all figured out. Everybody else also thought I had it figured out," he said. "So when you're all of a sudden then changing the record, people are like, 'Well, you must have always known,' and I didn't realise I did."
School bullying and determination
Chris continued: "I was bullied quite a bit at school, and people used to say I was gay because I did hair. I never was too focused on sexuality, but people at school always mentioned it, and, as a kid, you just don't ever want to be different – I already felt different because I was dyslexic."
"I was, I guess, just determined to prove everyone wrong, but so much that I did myself a disjustice. It wasn't until I experienced it at 26 that I was also going through it as well as everyone else. The difficult thing is, then you're hurting people around you that you've committed to, and you feel that."
"People feel like they know you, and you feel like you know them, and all of a sudden you're telling a different story which you're trying to figure out," Chris added. "So it was really hard for a few years, it was really difficult."
Life after letting go
Chris acknowledged that there's "so much power in living authentically and being authentically yourself," adding: "I think once I let go of all the guilt and shame of it all, my whole life changed. I moved to America, it was amazing how much grew and changed."
On Strictly, Chris is partnered with Amy Dowden. The pair performed together for the first time last weekend, dancing the tango to No Roots by Alice Merton, and received 16 points out of 40 from the judges.
After his performance, Chris penned on Instagram: "I did it!!! Ballroom tango. I was beyond nervous but we made it though! Thank you @amy_dowden for being the best (definitely most patient partner)."
