Actor Jonathan Bailey is everywhere nowadays, and his status as a gay icon and heartthrob is definitely secured.
But it wasn't so long ago that the Wicked star was considered a different kind of heartthrob—for girls.
An X user recently unearthed a clipping from a teen magazine featuring Bailey back in 2011 when he was one of the stars of the CBBC series Leonardo.
Not only is the clipping targeted directly at teen girls, but Bailey himself gave a now-hilarious take on his then-straight dating life.
Bailey has said he came out to people in his personal life in his 20s, so it's likely he was already out privately at the time. But he didn't come out publicly until 2018 when he was 30.
@rneerapps/X
Hence why Bailey was asked by Top of the Pops magazine about what he looks for in a girlfriend.
His responses are hilariously telling. Asked whether he was good at picking up on signals from women, Bailey replied:
“Girls are a mystery to me. I like the idea of being a gentleman but there’s nothing better than knowing efforts are being made both sides.”
Oh, Jonathan. Honey. He had a similarly hilarious response to the question of whether or not he had real-life chemistry his with Leonardo costar, Flora Spencer-Longhurst.
“Flora was dressed as a boy half of the time, so that was never really an option.”
Yeah, that's definitely the reason.
Other highlights include Bailey saying that his "ideal girlfriend" is someone who has "passion" and is "really cool." So specific! And he also said that he was "terrified" of the increased attention Leonardo was bringing him from women. Fair enough!
Obviously, people on social media found this whole thing endearingly hilarious—especially since Bailey's more recent career has featured extremely homoerotic content like Fellow Travelers.
Jokes aside, being in the closet to any degree is no picnic, so thank goodness we live in an age when someone like Bailey cann be himself both personally and professionally. The work he's been able to do because of it has been nothing short of thrilling.
