"That was a mega, mega thing for me" — Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning on coming out as gay

Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning appeared on the Reign with Josh Smith podcast, on Monday, June 3, 2024. Gunning shared her experience when she came out as gay, back in 2022. In the podcast, when she acknowledged that she came out later in life and host Josh Smith immediately welcomed the actress to the club. She explained,

"Well, a big thing happened to me and maybe I'll just talk about it. I came out actually in November 2022 and that was a mega, mega thing for me."

The actress added that the moment of coming out became quite massive for her. She also shared how she broke the news to her family back then.

Gunning added that she didn't feel comfortable in her own body for a long time. She wondered, however, if her body type was a factor in this case. Jessica Gunning added that when she realized that this wasn't the case, it felt "liberating."

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Jessica Gunning who played Martha in Baby Reindeer recalled the moments when she came out as gay in 2022

In the June 3 episode of Reign with Josh Smith podcast, Jessica Gunning spoke all about her sexuality and recalled how things were for her when she came out as gay a few years back. The actress was 36 when she came out. She further stated in the podcast that before that moment, it wasn't the case that she repressed her feelings since she had several gay friends.

Jessica added:

"I'm surrounded by gays, all my friends are gay and so it wasn’t that I was repressing anything. It was just that I didn't think I could be, and I still can't articulate it in the best way. But yeah, I realised I was a big old gay, and I was like, ‘that's what it's been. That's what it is.’"

She talked about how late she realized and accepted her homosexuality. She also explained,

"For so long, I'd thought, and I'm a bigger woman, and I thought maybe it was to do with my size, that I felt a little bit almost alien, or I was tagging along."

Jessica Gunning emphasized the fact that despite these feelings, she didn't feel like she had repressed anything within herself. According to her, it possibly was just a "secret" she was keeping from everybody including herself. Gunning added that she never thought that "could be" gay. Gunning continued:

"It's been a little secret, I guess I've been keeping from myself even. And not in a kind of hating way. I never felt I was repressing anything in a bad way or that any reaction would be bad. I just kind of was like, I didn't think I could be."

She recalled her entire journey and said that she missed several "signs from the universe." Gunning, who was also a part of the 2014 film Pride, revealed that she would often watch the 2004 TV series The L Word. Looking back at the instances now, Gunning felt that those possibly were signs which she ignored.

She added how she found the 2014 movie extremely emotional and would often cry for it. Jessica Gunning then said,

"And then I did a play with Cate Blanchett where I got to kiss her every night on stage again, should have known then. All these signs from the universe! It took me 36 years, but I did it."

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Gunning talked about her feelings after she came out

Jessica Gunning, who gained massive fame after being a part of Netflix series Baby Reindeer, further revealed how she told her family about her sexuality two years ago. She recalled the scene from the series where Donny (played by Richard Gadd) mentioned sleeping at his parents' place for the first time.

Jessica Gunning reportedly slept for about ten hours, after she confessed to her family during Christmas that year. The Baby Reindeer actress then revealed how she felt after she had come out after spending about 36 years of life with the "little secret" that was unknown even to her.

She said,

"It's been amazing and very freeing and very grounding. I feel really peaceful actually."

She added that while she thought that these confessions might be a bit s*xual in nature, in real life, it turned out to be quite emotional for the 38-year-old actress.

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Jessica Gunning with Richard Gadd (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Netflix)

In the interview, Gunning also spoke about the connection she shared with her Baby Reindeer co-star Richard Gadd. According to her, they shared a special bond and further mentioned that Gadd was quite "honest and brave" in how he narrated his experience through the series. She further added that she felt extremely proud of him for the series.