RTE host Stephen Byrne has admitted he was worried about being labelled as a ‘gay presenter’ before he came out.
The 2fm star came out five years ago at age twenty and insisted that in hind sight – he had nothing to worry about.
“I only came out when I was 20 so it was late enough,” he said.
Fears: Stephen was worried he’d be labelled as ‘the gay presenter’ | VIPIRELAND.COM
“And when I started work, I was stupidly worried that I would be labelled as ‘the gay presenter’ but it wasn’t like that at all.”
Stephen added that the recent marriage equality referendum passing was a very positive experience for him and changed his relationships with his family.
“The referendum changed my relationship with a lot of people,” he said.
“People opened up so much that you realise everyone is OK with this. It’s all so much more. My mam was out canvassing every single night.”
Equality: The referendum changed Stephen’s relationships with those close to him | BRIAN MCEVOY
The 25-year-old revealed that as an RTE employee, he was banned from publicly discussing his views on the referendum.
“Obviously we couldn’t talk about it for a long time which I totally understood,” he told the RTE Guide.
“I had never really talked about it before anyway. I obviously couldn’t do anything so she [his mum] took it upon herself to go out Monday to Friday.”
“She was brilliant. It was a weekend to be proud. It was a victory for everyone. We had a party to celebrate it.”
