Barry Manilow: Coming out as gay aged 73 was ‘great’

Legendary singer Barry Manilow is proving that it’s never too late to come out as gay.

The performer has been in the music industry for 50 years. And he’s famous for mega-hits including Could It Be Magic, Mandy, I Write the Songs, Can’t Smile Without You and Copacabana (At the Copa).

But he stayed in the closet until the age of 73, when he came out in 2017.

Today, he’s said the experience of coming out has been ‘great’ and his fans just want him to be happy.

‘They were happy for me’

Manilow, now 76, was speaking today to UK breakfast TV show, Good Morning Britain on ITV.

And during the interview he admitted that coming out earlier would have hurt his career.

He kept his sexuality secret despite a 40 year relationship with his manager Garry Kief, who he met in 1978.

The pair even married in 2014 when same-sex marriage became legal in California. But they continued to hide their relationship until he came out in April 2017.

Manilow said: ‘Well if I had done it much earlier, I think it would have affected my career a lot. But by the time Garry and I decided to do it, being gay and being alive was accepted, so nothing changed.

‘Nothing’s changed. The only thing that is different is people are very happy for me.

‘People just wanted me to be happy and when I said I had someone in my life, they were happy for me and there was no negativity and all.

‘I kind of expected that and these people are great, it’s great.’

When he came out in 2017, the ‘Copacabana’ star said he had feared he would ‘disappoint’ his mainly female fans if he was open about his sexuality. He also said he is ‘so private’ about his personal life.

‘Talking about sex and romance’

And in the spirit of TV chat shows, the veteran performer managed an eye-widening link to the new album he is promoting.

Manilow was speaking to Good Morning Britain from Palm Springs, California, to promote his new album, Night Songs II.

And he wasn’t going to let the interview go without a plug for it.

So after the questions about his sexuality, he joked:

‘And talking about sex and romance, I’ve got this album and it’s the sexiest and most romantic album you’ve ever heard.’

76 years old and over 75 million solo records sold – Manilow is proving it’s never too late to be yourself.

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