Singer Devine reveals parents feared she would ‘corrupt’ their daughters ‘into being a lesbian’

Devine has been sharing the pain of her coming out as a 17-year-old schoolgirl and is grateful that gay kids are finally receiving the support they need.

As Pride month begins today, she said her track Daughter is about ‘the homophobia I experienced in my first relationship’.

The 23-year-old, real name Olivia, told Guilty Pleasures: ‘There were a few instances with parents not wanting me around their daughters in fear that I would “corrupt them into being a lesbian”. 

‘When you’re 17, and fully grown adults — people you see as authoritative figures — are shaming you, it’s seriously damaging. At the time, I genuinely thought I had done something wrong.

‘As I get older, I realise how much shame I was carrying around my sexuality as a child/teenager, and how that continues to affect me in my adult life, which I think a lot of queer people can relate to.’

Devine sought help from one of her teachers at Newcastle High School For Girls, but there was no response. 

The Sad Songs singer says: ‘So much has changed since then and one of my favourite teachers at the school asked me to do a talk about sexuality and female empowerment. They’re doing so much for the LGBTQ+ community in the school now and that makes me really happy. If I can share my story and help others, then I feel like I tackled it eventually.’ 

Explaining her new track Girls Like Sex she said: ‘I wanted to release it around Pride. I feel like queer icons and queer artists are always the ones who aren’t afraid to talk about taboo topics in a fun way.’

More Guilty Pleasures… 

Take that fans just need a little more patience…

Take That are eyeing up their latest reinvention as the man band’s drought nears the end.

Fans haven’t heard boo out of Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald since 2018’s Odyssey.

But now Gaz, 50, tells GP: ‘As soon as big venues are up and running again, we’re desperate to come back and do something. I don’t know what it is yet, whether it’s a tour or album, or both even. But Take That are going nowhere.

‘I don’t think it will be long before we’re back. The touring side is such a big part of it for us.’

As for which way their adult pop is heading next, the Greatest Day singer said: ‘One of the worst things we could ever hear is, “Oh, I like this album, it sounds like that last one” — we don’t want that. We are always trying to evolve our sound and it’s hard to plan. Music is like a diary, I don’t know where my head is going to be next year. You’re led by where you are in that moment.

‘But it will always be fresh, there will be an idea that comes up to make it special.’

Gary, whose Crooner sessions were a lockdown hit, says getting Take That back together is like coming home, and fans are happiest when they are all together. 

‘I think like everyone else, Mark and Howard are enjoying the pause and the chance to be at home. Howard’s got the youngest kids of all of us.’

For now the former X Factor judge is returning to TV — along with Tom Fletcher, James Bay, Jamie Cullum and Mica Paris — in music show I’m With The Band, on BBC One this Friday at 10.45pm.

■ There was another Friends reunion at the weekend when buddies Ed Sheeran and Courteney Cox recreated Ross and Monica’s cringing dance routine outdoors. Cutting the hilarious shapes again, Shape Of You singer Ed, 30, posted the video clip on his Instagram with the hashtag #obviouslybetterthanross.

■ Dress You Up… in my frock! Madonna shared her pride at her son David Banda’s confidence after he strutted his stuff in a full-length designer frock. Filmed by Madge, 62, the football-mad 15-year-old insisted: ‘It’s so freeing, you know what I mean?’ His mum captioned her Instagram video: ‘Confidence is everything…’

■ Jay-Z finally learned to swim when his eldest Blue Ivy, nine, was born because he’d be useless if his kids were drowning. The dad of three, 51, decided: ‘I gotta learn how to swim. That’s it.’

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