Jonathan Bailey Responds To Being The First Openly Gay "Sexiest Man Alive"
He's making history, and looking good doing it.
As anyone with eyes could have already told you, Jonathan Bailey is officially the sexiest man alive. People granted the highest distinction of hotness to the Wicked star on Nov. 4, and in doing so, the publication ended a 40-year streak by spotlighting its first openly gay bachelor. And Bailey is aware of how important this moment is.
“In 2025, I'm sort of thrilled People Magazine have bestowed this honor on someone who can really cherish the value of a sexy man,” Bailey joked on The Tonight Show shortly after he was revealed as the mag’s cover star.
Bailey publicly came out as gay in 2018, a couple years before he would achieve mainstream fame as the star of Bridgerton. He’s previously spoken about how although he was out to his close friends and family, he feared coming out publicly would ruin his acting career. “At the time, [my friend] was told, ‘There’s two things we don’t want to know: if you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay,’” Bailey said in 2022. “All it takes is for one of those people in that position of power to say that, and it ripples through. So, yeah, of course I thought that. Of course I thought that in order to be happy I needed to be straight.”
The actor eventually decided that hiding his sexuality wasn’t worth the stress. “I reached a point where I thought, ‘F*ck this, I’d much prefer to hold my boyfriend’s hand in public or be able to put my own face picture on Tinder and not be so concerned about that than getting a part,” Bailey said.
While Bailey is open about his sexuality, he’s famously very private about his love life. However, he did give a rare relationship update over the summer, divulging that he’s “available.”
In his “Sexiest Man Alive” interview, Bailey detailed how his idea of a perfect date night changes depending on how long he’s been seeing someone. “I love a walk, I do love dinner, theater, films,” Bailey said. “You know, if it’s like date 100, then like Legos, although we Brits say it singular, 'Lego,' and pizza. Some of my best dates have been Lego dates.”
