Sara Gilbert: ‘I Realized I Was Gay While Dating Johnny Galecki’ [Video]

Keeping up with “Secret Week” on The Talk, Sara Gilbert revealed one of her own on the show Thursday: that she realized she was gay while dating former Roseanne co-star Johnny Galecki.

“I thought he was super cute and I had a total crush on him,” Gilbert said of Galecki. “And we started dating and he would come over and we would, like, make out, and then I would start to get depressed.”

Gilbert said Galecki started to take her depression personally, and thought that it was because of him. But that wasn’t the case, the 38-year-old said.

“I eventually told him that I thought it was about my sexuality, and he was super sweet about it,” she said.

Gilbert went on to say that she started dating a woman who was 18 years older than her and also in the public eye, but that no one knew about the relationship because Galecki never said anything.

“No one knew at the show for years, and Johnny held the secret the whole time, and I just felt like, always so scared if it came out, what could happen,” she said. “Could I lose my career? Will I ever be able to play a straight role again?”

Gilbert said that she still gets scared to talk about her sexuality, and that she’ll make jokes but still thinks, “What is this costing me in my career?”

She added, “I want people to know that there can still be a struggle with it, and that’s OK. It’s a process, and there can be a part of you that doesn’t want to feel different or feel scared.”

Gilbert went on to say that, when she decided to discuss her sexuality on the show, she called Galecki and asked him if he was OK with her revealing the details of their relationship.

“Bringing it back to Johnny, I called him and I just said, ‘Is it OK, I’m thinking about talking about this and the story kind of starts with you. And I’ve got to say I made out with you and got depressed, which is kind of a bummer,” she said.

“[He said], ‘Of course. I love you, and I think it’s really important. And I’m so proud of you … If you want, I will be there, and I will hold your hand,'” Gilbert said. “It was so sweet, and this story really makes Johnny look good.”

Gilbert’s co-hosts also revealed secrets this week. Sharon Osbourne admitted that she had a fling with Jay Leno (before she was with Ozzy, of course), Julie Chen confessed that she had surgery to fix her “Asian eyes,” and Aisha Tyler opened up about her infertility and how she felt awful about not being able to have children with her husband.

Sara Gilbert has been engaged to songwriter and former 4 Non Blondes frontwoman Linda Perry since April of this year. The couple started dating in 2011, a year after Gilbert publicly came out as a lesbian.

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