He found fame in noughties boyband Blue, and came out as gay in 2012 after having previously identified as bisexual.
And on Wednesday, Duncan James 42, and his Belgian boyfriend Rodrigo Reis made their TV debut on Loose Women to share details of their relationship with viewers.
The Hollyoaks actor admitted he found it ‘really hard’ to come out because he worried about ‘alienating’ female fans and ‘letting down’ his band members – fears he now brands ‘so stupid.’
Cute couple alert! On Wednesday, Duncan James 42, and his Belgian boyfriend Rodrigo Reis made their TV debut on Loose Women to share details of their relationship with viewers
Duncan and Rodrigo joined Loose Women panellists Brenda Edwards, Ruth Langsford, Frankie Bridge and Linda Nolan to chat about their romance.
Explaining how they first met, Duncan said: ‘We met in Belgium… I was doing a gig with the boys and I met him at the afterparty. I met him across the bar, as Brenda Edwards can tell you, he’s very much my type!
And the pair are most definitely serious about each other having met one another’s mothers.
Duncan revealed: ‘Before we went into lockdown, we [Duncan, Rodrigo and their mums] all went to Gent in Belgium where Rodrigo lives, and I went to have a weekend with him and his mum in Italy, which was lovely.
His journey: Duncan found fame in noughties boyband Blue, and came out as gay in 2012 after having previously identified as bisexual (pictured in 2012)
Candid: The actor admitted he found it ‘really hard’ to come out because he worried about ‘alienating’ female fans and ‘letting down’ his band members – fears he now brands ‘so stupid’
Duncan also said Rodrigo’s got the nod of approval from his mum: ‘It’s really important. I’m super close to my mum. She likes Rodrigo, so we’re winning at the moment. Historically she hasn’t liked my partners.’
And Rodrigo gushed about meeting Duncan’s daughter Tianie-Finn James, who Duncan co-parents with his ex and former ballet dancer Claire Grainger.
The Belgian hunk enthused: ‘She’s wonderful! I’ve met her two or three times. She’s so beautiful, what she does in ballet… wow!’
Tough: ‘It was a really hard thing to do, coming from a boyband and world where you had a lot of female fans’ said Duncan of coming out as gay
The Hollyoaks actor, who previously dated a string of women including Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, came out as bisexual in 2009, before coming out as gay in 2012.
Duncan recalled coming out to Loose Women panellist Brenda during their West End show before eventually coming out to the public.
He said: ‘It was a really hard thing to do, coming from a boyband and world where you had a lot of female fans. I didn’t want to alienate my fans, there was a lot of pressure from the record company, I didn’t want to let the boys down.
‘It was so stupid, I had all these issues in my head about my sexuality, so I thought it was best to just keep my mouth shut.’
Happy! Duncan, who is now happily settled with his boyfriend, confirmed: ‘Rodrigo is the first relationship I’ve had when I’ve gone public with. The reaction was crazy’
He added to Brenda: ‘I remember doing Chicago with you Brenda, and me telling you about my sexuality.
‘And you just gave me a hug and you just said, “Baby who cares? You’re gorgeous”. And you just gave me so much love.’
Duncan, who is now happily settled with his boyfriend, confirmed: ‘Rodrigo is the first relationship I’ve had when I’ve gone public with. The reaction was crazy.’
Approved! Duncan also said Rodrigo’s got the nod of approval from his mum: ‘It’s really important. I’m super close to my mum. She likes Rodrigo, so we’re winning at the moment
Family matters: Rodrigo gushed about meeting Duncan’s daughter Tianie-Finn James (pictured), who Duncan co-parents with his ex and former ballet dancer Claire Grainger
Rodrigo admitted that he’s excited about being in the public eye, despite there being people who don’t accept his relationship with Duncan.
He explained: ‘Yeah, it was all over the papers in Belgium. We got 1,000 followers on Instagram! It was scary at the beginning, but then we had a conversation and he explained it all to me. It was exciting.
‘I thought we would have bad energy from this picture [they posted online together] because unfortunately we still have a lot of people that don’t accept the gay community or gay couples.
‘But we had so many good energy and messages it was amazing. Every day I get some lovely messages saying I support you guys, it’s amazing, I really like it.’
Loved up: ‘Ufortunately we still have a lot of people that don’t accept the gay community or gay couples’ admitted Rodrigo
Duncan detailed the difficult situation lockdown put them in, keeping them apart for large chunks of time.
He admitted: ‘It’s been so hard. We had four months apart, but we were able to see each other at Christmas when things eased. We haven’t seen each other since.’
And looking towards Valentine’s day, the West End star teased: ‘There’s something in the post for Rodrigo… hopefully there’s something in the post for me too, mi Amor!’
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12:30pm on ITV and catch up on the ITV Hub