11 September 2023 , 18:08
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Strictly Come Dancing's judge Craig Revel Horwood has admitted he was "completely homophobic" after being traumatised at school.
The dance judge confessed he experienced intense bulling from fellow students about his love for the performing arts. Craig, 58, has been openly gay since he left his wife of two years Jane in 1992. He has spoken in favour of gay rights and has been praised for his role in having same-sex couples on Strictly.
However, Craig has not always felt comfortable with his sexuality. At school he was branded a "pansy" and "poofter" by classmates for his interests. "Even me just doing home economics instead of woodwork was frowned on because I was quite effeminate – not that I knew I was, but I liked the recorder and I hated sport," he confessed.
Craig was traumatised from his younger years (PA)Speaking to The Guardian, Craig shared the horrific bullying left him "completely homophobic". He shared how it wasn't until he was older that he tackled his self-hatred. Entering the theatre world made him able to accept who he was. Craig said: "They were older and accepting, and I loved it. I liked those people, and I knew I didn’t like people at school. I was traumatised at school, but dance released that."
The dancer was raised in the mining town of Ballarat, Australia. In his book, he dished on his ill-fated marriage to wife Jane, who knew he identified as bisexual when they tied the knot. The pair met while sharing a house in London during Craig's stint in the West End show Miss Saigon, and got together at the start of 1990. In love and desperate to start a family, Craig, then 25, popped the question to Jane, who was five years older.
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"I was both gay and straight, so being bisexual, it wasn't a big issue for me or for her. We were two people who loved each other, coming together and wanting to have kids before it was too late," he wrote in his book. "I loved her zany qualities, her appreciation for the arts, her outgoing nature, her ability to converse with anybody, her strength, her passion – even her Welsh accent." But when the passion dried up, he claimed Jane cheated with a mutual friend, sparking their divorce.
"I was young and stupid when I got married and I suppose I wanted to see if I could live a normal life, but she started going off with other guys, so it came to an end. I believe in monogamy," he said. Craig is now engaged to horticulturalist Jonathan Myring. They got engaged in Tasmania in April 2020, when Jonathan surprised Craig during a trip to a national park. Craig was previously in a relationship with Britain's Got Talent puppeteer Damon Scott, but they broke their relationship off in 2016