Troye Sivan Shares Coming Out Details: Being Gay 'Was the Only Thing I Kept to Myself'

Openly gay Australian pop star Troye Sivan shared tidbits about his life, family, and coming out journey in a recent freeform, first-person interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.

What happened when he eventually came out to his parents, though, is heartwarming.

In leading up to the story of his coming out, the "Rush" singer explained that his "fragrance line, Tsu Lange Yor, is named in honor of my paternal great-grandmother Baske [Bessie], who spoke Yiddish. To me, that's the language of love and what they spoke at home."

Sivan also spoke about the tight bond between himself and his sister, saying, "Sage and I are very close."

"The relationship between a gay brother and his sister is a sacred one," Sivan explained. "She is my best friend. We lived together in Melbourne for a long time."

But the pop star, now 28, hesitated before telling his family that he is gay.

"I came out to my parents when I was 14," Sivan told the Morning Herald. "It was met with complete support and love."

"The biggest challenge for me growing up was that we were so close and shared everything," the "Got Me Started" singer shared, "but this was the only thing I kept to myself."

"Mum reassured me and I felt a lot of relief."

As previously reported, Sivan's first impulse was not to come out to his family, but rather to Sir Ian McKellen, famed not only for his stature as a great English star of stage and screen but also for having come out publicly in 1988, long before many other actors would have dared. Sivan, a performer since he was a toddler, and McKellen shared the stage in a production of "Waiting for Godot."

"I hadn't come out to my parents at the time," Sivan told German GQ, "but then I thought about telling Ian McKellen. Somehow I had the feeling he noticed."

Added the "Dance to This" singer, "I wanted to talk to someone about it so badly and he was so kind."

Sivan referenced "[t]he longest relationship I have been in" which, he said, lasted "4½ years.

"Jacob Bixenman was a significant moment in my life," Sivan recalled. "We ended in 2019. We are still friends and share custody of our dog, Nash."

Sivan has said that his new album, "Something to Give Each Other," due out this month, had its genesis in the "hope" he found even as he suffered the pain of his breakup with Bixenman.

The singer pointed to the album's first two singles, saying, "'Rush' is sort of this turbo party," whereas "Got Me Started" "was always a bit more like when you're feeling yourself and moving solo through the world and encountering all of these people along the way."