Dame Kelly Holmes feared coming out would have ruined her military career
Dame Kelly Holmes appeared on Sunday Brunch where she discussed her work and life with hosts Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer.
Dame Kelly Holmes talks about career fears if she came out
Dame Kelly Holmes has opened up on the fear she felt about coming out as a young woman in the military. The Loose Women panellist appeared on Sunday Brunch to discuss her life and work and she explained that she was "frightened" of losing her career had she come out as gay.
"I joined the military the month before I turned 18," she told hosts Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer. "But I didn't know I was gay [then] because you know, I'm a teenager, you're just sort of busy exploring who you are.
"And I realised quite quickly when I joined that maybe I was attracted to women," she confessed. "But what happened was I loved my career. I loved it"
"I loved beating the guys in the gym. I loved being a PTI in the military. So I was frightened of losing my career if I got found out," she admitted.
However, it wasn't just the fear of losing her career hanging over but also her liberty. "The complex part of it, which is more the story, is the fact that what it meant that if you were found out to be gay or anything for a man or woman, you could be jailed!" she exclaimed.
Kelly joined the army at 17 and served ten years in the military where she worked as an HGV driver and also as a physical training instructor.
In 1998 she was awarded an MBE in recognition of her services to the armed forces. It would be decades before she eventually came out in 2022, living a secret life prior to that.
Following her stint in the military, she enjoyed an impressive athletic career and won a string of medals which included winning gold at the Summer Olympics in Athens in 2004.
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However, in an interview with OK! magazine in 2023 she recalled the momentous moment as being “fulfilling” and something she had dreamt of for over 20 years yet she also spoke of feeling "fear".
She was worried about being outed while speaking about her sexuality openly with a psychologist.
"I'd always worried about opening up about sexuality to anyone outside my circle. I worried that a psychologist would out me, as well.
"It's really irrational because they're professionals, but when you're caught up in your own fears, everything becomes a fear of the unknown," she explained.
Sunday Brunch is on Channel 4 weekly at 9.30am.