Andrew Gillum, whose political career was marred by scandal in March, has shared in an exclusive Monday interview with Tamron Hall that he is bisexual.
The former Florida gubernatorial candidate made the statement about his sexual orientation while speaking with Hall about his political career and battle with alcoholism. The interview is part of the Season 2 debut of the veteran journalist’s show. The “Tamron Hall Show" episode aired Monday.
“You didn’t ask the question, you put it out there of whether I identify as gay. The answer is I don’t identify as gay, but I do identify as bisexual,” he said in the interview, which functioned as the Season 2 debut of Hall’s show. “And that is something that I’ve never shared publicly before.”
The former Tallahassee mayor is a father of three and married to his wife R. Jai Gillum. He was the youngest Black person elected to office in Florida at age 23, and since then, has been considered one of the rising stars of the Democratic Party. He was the first Black nominee in a major political party to run for governor in Florida. After the electoral defeat, the former Tallahassee mayor mounted an effort to register Democratic voters in Florida and frequently appeared on cable news channels as a political commentator.
The March hotel incident ‘hurt’ him
In March, he was found in a Miami hotel room where a man, who was either a friend or acquaintance, had overdosed. According to a police report, Gillum was found vomiting in the room of the drug overdose. The man alongside him in the hotel room was a known gay sex worker, according to reports. In the interview, the 40-year-old said he went to visit a friend at the hotel room, was intoxicated but had no idea what happened after he passed out that night.
He recalled being out of for three hours that night, and he said he immediately called his wife after leaving the hotel. The Florida native said that he was vulnerable and unaware about the drugs found in the room or why he was naked by the time police arrived.
Later, he admitted that he fell into a depression after losing the race for governor, which led to “alcohol abuse.” He said he was not sure whether he “wanted to live" after being linked to the overdose and the speculation that came with that.
“I got broken down to my most bare place...This belief that I was somehow living a lie in my marriage and in my family. That was the most hurtful to me...I believe we're all entitled to mistakes I believe we're entitled to those mistakes without having every other respectable, redeeming part of our lives invalidated."
He said the assumptions about him being inauthentic or not being truly invested in his marriage and family were unfair. Gillum has been a longtime advocate of LGBTQIA rights. His wife, who is also featured in the interview Monday, said much is misunderstood about bisexuality.
“So many people just don’t understand bisexuality,” R. Jai said in the joint interview. “Bisexuality is just something different. I just believe that love and sexuality exist on a spectrum. All I care about is what’s between us and what agreement we make.”
Gillum did not reveal whether he was unfaithful to his wife, but he made it clear that being bisexual is not the root cause of such transgressions.
“Bisexuality in and of itself doesn’t lead to unfaithfulness,” Andrew said in the interview. “There are men who are in marriages with women who just because they’re married to a woman doesn’t mean they’re not attracted to other women, and at any point can slip up, make a mistake, do something, and that is what it is. The same thing in bisexual relationships.”
Several people took to social media to show support for his honesty and vulnerability about such a sensitive topic. Many people also supported his wife.
Some said they felt his revelation was forced due to the incident that happened earlier this year.
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