Heartstopper star Bel Priestley laments dating as a trans woman: ‘People still think you’re gay’
Priestley said that the reality for trans women is that "people don’t want to date you or don’t want to be seen out with you”
By Gary Grimes
Bel Priestley, known for acting in the Netflix queer teen romance series Heartstopper, has spoken out about the realities of dating as a young trans woman.
The model and actress spoke to Jamie Laing in a recent appearance on his podcast Great Company. On the episode, she told the reality star: “It’s still really shunned upon to date a trans woman. I think people still think you’re gay.”
Priestley revealed that whilst casual sex was a more regular occurrence, longterm dating still proves to be difficult as a trans woman.
“A lot of guys are happy to have a one-night stand with me, not that I do that too often anymore, people don’t want to date you or don’t want to be seen out with you,” she said. “I think that’s a really difficult thing.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get married or find someone. It’s rare for us,” she went on. “I always wonder what I would be like if I was born a girl. I’d probably get married really young and have kids.
The former Attitude cover star also detailed a number of negative experiences she’s had with men: “I probably won’t have a young love situation because I’m trans… I’ve had so many situations with guys when they’ve been really cold after or not spoken to me after [a one night stand].”
Such experiences left the young star to ponder:“What’s wrong with me?”
“You always end up comparing yourself to these women,” she explained, “who you look nothing like because of a guy who never respected you in the first place.”
We spoke with Priestley in 2023 when she had first joined Heartstopper. She spoke then of the importance of trans representation on a show of that size: “For such a big show to talk about something so openly, I just think it’s, like, what we need. I think, I’m surprised it’s taken this long, but like, it’s incredible.”
It was recently announced that rather than a fourth season of the hit show, a film which will wrap up the plot is in production. It’s not yet confirmed if Priestley will resprise her role as Naomi in the film.