Troye Sivan Discusses the Struggle of Growing Up in the Closet

Troye Sivan is anything but shy when it comes to his sexuality. He's explicitly said his latest single "Animal" is about how whipped his boyfriend of two years Jacob Bixenman has made him, he's confessed "Bloom" is a song about bottoming, and he's talked about being the victim of a sexual predator back in his YouTube days, but the 23-year-old pop star hasn't always felt comfortable being so open.

During a recent interview with Them, Troye got candid about growing up in the closet.

“Before coming out, I remember distinctly feeling like there was a delay on my life,” he admitted. “All my friends were doing just dumb stuff that kids do, like making out with people at parties and starting to date...I didn’t know any gay people growing up or any queer people growing up, and so I just really felt alone and kind of lost, and I just wasn’t experiencing life.”

He recalled a specific story about being at a party and feeling left out as his peers emerged from bedrooms, sporting hickies.  “I pulled my best friend, who’s a girl, into a room and told her that I was devastated because everyone was having all these romantic and sexual experiences for the first time, and I just felt like I was sitting this one out,” he explained. “She was so sweet and gave me a hickey on my neck so I could show it off a little bit to everyone else. It made me feel a little bit better, and also made me feel depressed for myself.”

But now, he's reached a point in his life where he's embraced his sexuality and is honest and open about who he is. “Now, to be 23, maybe it’s a little weird to be experiencing these things for the first time, maybe it’s not,” he said. “I just felt excited to finally be getting the experience of crazy, unabashed love that I’ve always wanted to know and feel.”

Read the full interview here.

Photo: Getty Images