Sam Smith had 'reservations' about coming out: 'Past gay artists, things have happened to them that haven't been great'

The “Latch” singer first spoke about his sexuality publicly in an interview with Fader in May

Sam Smith for 'In the Lonely' (Getty Images)

Sam Smith has admitted that coming out as gay before the release of his debut album, In The Lonely Hour, wasn’t as easy a decision to make as it appeared to be.

The “Latch” singer spoke about his sexuality publicly in an interview with Fader in May.

“In the Lonely Hour is about a guy that I fell in love with last year, and he didn’t love me back,” he said. “I think I’m over it now, but I was in a very dark place. I kept feeling lonely in the fact that I hadn’t felt love before.

“I’ve felt the bad things. And what’s a more powerful emotion: pain or happiness?”

Speaking about coming out six months later, Smith confessed he had “reservations” about whether to make the personal declaration.

“We all had that reservation before the record,” he told The Telegraph. “Past gay artists, things have happened to them that haven’t been great.

“All I can say is I’m so unbelievably surprised and happy at how far the world has come, because there have been no issues.

He added: “Obviously I want to fall in love and stuff, but I don’t yearn for it every day like I used to. It sounds so cheesy but my fans have completely filled that hole.

“I’ve always been an open book about [my sexuality]. This was the constant thing; I came out as a gay man at a very, very young age.”

His comments follow those he made in August that suggested he wasn’t striving to be a gay role model.

“It sounds awful of me, but I’m really just trying to live my life and write music about it,” he said.

“That’s what I do. I’m not trying to heal the world.”