Rugby player Sam Stanley pays tibute to ‘supportive’ boyfriend
By Will Stroude
It’s been a whirlwind ten days for England Sevens star Sam Stanley, who helped break down closet doors at the end of last month after coming out publicly as gay – and there’s one man he says he couldn’t have done it without.
Speaking to QX, Sam has paid tribute to his partner Lawrence for supporting him as he’s come out to his family, teammates and the worlds – and says he’s been returning the favour too.
“He’s been there and he’s always encouraged me and was always going to be behind me. Obviously I struggled with myself when I told my parents, but when I did it he was right behind me and comforting me when I was struggling. So he’s been great,” the 23-year-old said.
“When we met he’d been married for a good 20-plus years and had two kids and he’d just moved out of his home. So we kind of relate to each other in a way. It was almost good that we were in a similar situation; we could talk to each other about everything that was going on.”
Sam added that seeing him come out in such a grand manner helped Lawrence open up to the people in his life, too.
“And he’s found courage himself from what I did [coming out] in February to my teammates; he told a load of people at work, and probably if people have read the articles they would have seen stuff about him, so this was also a big thing for him as well,” he said. “And he’s taken it really well. He’s obviously behind me and we’re just supporting each other through it.”
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