Colton Haynes Coming Out Has Him Happier Than Ever
Colton Haynes came out of the closet in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, and Haynes said that it has been one of the best decisions he has ever made in life. In an interview with USA Today on Friday, Colton said that he is doing “good” since coming out in the interview.
“It took me so long to get to this point, but I’m doing so good. I’m happier than I’ve ever been and healthier than I’ve ever been, and that’s what I care about.”
Colton Haynes also took the time to talk to his fans through his social media accounts about coming out of the closet. The star of Teen Wolf and Arrow even publicly made a comment back in January on his Tumblr account, where a fan asked about a “secret gay past.” Colton asked if it was as secret at all, and people should just enjoy life.
In the profile story where he came out, Haynes said that he had to step away from acting, for now, leaving both Teen Wolf and Arrow. Colton said that he needed to get his mental and physical health in order. That makes his post-story interview about feeling happier and healthy so important for the young actor, who suffers from anxiety.
Colton Haynes has always been open with his fans when it comes to his social media conversations with them. A few months back, Haynes said on Twitter that he has been hospitalized countless times because of his anxiety, pointing out seizures, hyperventilating, and fainting as causes. Haynes revealed this to help other people deal with anxiety in their lives and for his fans not to feel alone.
After the Entertainment Weekly issue helped Colton come out of the closet, Haynes took to Instagram to thank fans for their love and support. Haynes also thanked the writer of the article as well. In the original interview, Colton said it was stressful for him to deal with the new fame after the questions of his sexuality was discovered. He said that it was a complete shock and that he never believed that the story would be in the headlines.
“I should have made a comment or a statement, but I just wasn’t ready. I didn’t feel like I owed anyone anything. I think in due time, everyone has to make those decisions when they’re ready, and I wasn’t yet. But I felt like I was letting people down by not coming forward with the rest of what I should have said.”
With the stress and anxiety that has come from hiding his true self for so long, Colton Haynes is returning to work. He said he needed time off, which is why he left a show he was a lead in and another that saw him play an important character from DC Comics. After stays in a hospital for treatment with his anxiety, he said that he might be ready for a return to Arrow, where he plays Roy Harper, a very important character from the comic series.
In the comics, Roy Harper is Speedy, a name that was given to hero Oliver Queen’s little sister on the TV show. In the comics, Harper was part of one of the most important storylines in Green Arrow comics’ history when he developed a drug addiction to heroin. At a time where the Comic Code disallowed comic books to deal with drug use, this storyline was very controversial and a turning point for the industry.
Haynes played Harper on the show as a kid from the streets who teamed with Oliver Queen and his group of heroes to battle to protect Star City. Instead of using the name Speedy, he used the name Arsenal, which is the name his character used in the Teen Titans comics as well as the Young Justice animated series. Whether or not Colton Haynes returns to Arrow is yet to be determined.
[Photo by Rob Latour/Invision/AP Images]
