'I didn’t know I was gay until I was 15' - Adele Roberts opens up about coming to terms with her sexuality

Virgin Radio

2 Jun 2024, 12:36

Adele Roberts and Kate Holderness have opened up about their experiences of coming out and understanding their sexuality. 

The pair joined Steve Denyer on Virgin Radio Pride this weekend to launch the station and talk about some of their favourite queer TV shows. 

For Adele and Kate, a formative show was The L Word, a long-running series about the lives and loves of a group of lesbians and bisexuals in Los Angeles. 

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It was especially important for Adele to see herself represented in that way as she struggled to come to terms with her sexuality as a teenager. 

“I didn’t know I was gay until later on when I was about 15,” Adele explained. “Kate’s a bit younger than me and I think she’s always felt okay with who she is.”

Kate replied, “I feel very lucky because of people like you and people who have done so much good work. I never actually came out; I’ve always just been gay, and I think that’s because I’ve been so lucky to live in a time after the people who have done such good work.”

“Whereas I struggled a little bit,” Adele added. 

She continued, “There was a time when I didn’t realise at first, and then when I did realise, I felt like I’d done something wrong. I felt like I was going to let my family down, and it took me a while to sort of grapple with my feelings.”

Adele and Kate have been together since meeting in 2004 and have become outspoken advocates for LGBTQ+ representation. 

They are also advocates for better awareness around ostomy bags and bowel cancer after Adele was diagnosed with the condition in 2021. Following intense treatment, Adele is now cancer-free but has to wear a stoma bag (which she calls Audrey) as her bowel recovers. 

Her mission is to break down the stigma surrounding her diagnosis, and Adele revealed that she and Kate plan to write a children’s book to do just that. 

She explained: “We’d love to do a children’s book together for ostomy awareness. There are three of us in here, including my little stoma who’s called Audrey. We’d like to do a children’s book for better representation to show kids that it’s okay to be a little bit different.”

Find out what else is coming up on Virgin Radio Pride this week here.

Virgin Radio Pride UK will be broadcast from 1st June to 31st August 2024. Ask your smart speaker to “play Virgin Radio Pride". Get us online, on virginradiopride.co.uk, on the free Virgin Radio app or on DAB Digital radio in Greater London and Scotland.