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13 gay male celebs who have talked openly about being on the apps

It’s a small world when it comes to avoiding your ex, but sometimes it feels like you’re suddenly swimming in an endless ocean of red flags, rejection, or missed connections when trying to find the next one. It’s hard not to imagine landing dates and finding love must be significantly easier for celebrities.

For that reason, we’re grateful for the A-listers willing to admit the grass doesn’t come with fewer f**k boys in Hollywood. Still, you might not expect the rich and famous to search for companionship like the rest of us: on the apps!

Hate or love it, online culture facilitates finding that big D energy in the haystack of America. So next time you’re scrolling through bodies, consider one of them might belong to a famous face.

Until ChatGTP learns the algorithm to find a compatible partner emotionally available a few hundred feet away, here are 13 gay male celebs who admitted you could’ve matched with them on a dating app.

Adam Lambert

Meeting the one sometimes feels like you’re mining for them, and singer Adam Lamber revealed dating isn’t as glamorous as you’d imagine for a pop star sensation. He confessed on KISS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O Show that life on the road made it difficult to form meaningful connections, which pushed him to try Raya. He said nothing came out of it at the time, but we’re hopeful that’s changed for the artist since then.

Adam Rippon

We thought we couldn’t relate to Adam Rippon more than when he told Vice, “Grindr is just trash. You’re not looking for love, you’re looking for a mistake.” But then he had to go public with a Finnish boyfriend he met on Tinder, which was news to us – do people actually meet there?! The couple is still dating, so at least there’s our hope that finding love online is possible.

Andy Cohen

Andy Cohen is no stranger to dating apps, including getting kicked off them. Grindr is apparently Ok with anonymous torsos, but they put their foot down when a celebrity tries to show their face! But the Watch What Happens Live! host hasn’t let that deter his quest for Daddy #2 (his son’s request) and admitted during a panel at Bravocon, “I’m on Raya. I’m on Tinder; I’m ready to go!” Kudos for keeping it real.

Colton Underwood

Before Colton Underwood found his happily-ever-after with his current hubby, he admitted to experimenting on Grindr using an alias. The former Bachelor contestant maintained he didn’t have sex, though, which is like someone saying they went to the candy store but didn’t eat anything sweet. But it’s his story, so we’ll let him tell it. 

Gus Kenworthy

Gus Kenworthy might be off the market again, but once upon a time, a disappointed Olympic skier told Vanity Fair he couldn’t have any fun during the 2012 Summer Olympics because Grindr crashed. Ugh, we know the struggle! 

Graham Norton

There’s no shortage of people with baggage to be found dating online (mostly ours), and BBC host Graham Norton no longer wants anything to do with it. But that was after Norton had a taste. He said, “There’s a law of diminishing returns on Tinder. I met a few people and thought, ‘God, there are a lot of broken people in the world, and I don’t really need to meet them.’” Tell us how you really feel!

Joel Kim Booster

If you catch actor Joel Kim Booster on Grindr, he says you’re legally required to tell him. He released a cheeky 69 questions with the cheekier app and surely gave them his stamp of approval, including admitting to preferring hookups first cuz you “gotta kick the tires a little bit.” Facts!

Joshua Rush

2020 was a horrible time for meeting dates in person, which must be why bisexual actor Joshua Rush posted on Twitter that he joined Bumble! And on the heels of his coming out the previous year, that means the Disney star could’ve been anyone’s game.

Lil Nas X

Although Raya is no longer just for the stars (they let this peasant author sign up), apparently, celebs are still finding each other on the app, according to Lil Nas X. He spilled the tea on his dating life during Carpool Karaoke and admitted to going on a few dates with previous celebs who have sung with James Corden. We’re gonna need receipts! 

Luke Macfarlane

Variety should switch gears to specializing in gay celebs dishing on their intimate online lives because they also got actor Luke Macfarlane to spill on his experience with Grindr: “It’s all very scary.” We couldn’t agree more, but like the scariest of movies, we can’t seem to turn away…

Olly Alexander

Olly Alexander isn’t here for the meat market on Grindr, but he will be the unicorn to your throuple. The singer opened up to GQ about navigating the sea of horny torsos when you’re a famous face, and we weren’t expecting it to be so relatable. We, too, want to spend our days getting high on a beach and join our boyfriends for fun a few times a week.

Sam Smith

Honestly, we’re going to blame whoever keeps banning celebs from dating apps as the reason we’re not dating them. Sam Smith is the latest A-lister to confess being kicked off the apps (Hinge) because they didn’t believe it was him. Although the singer seems to be doing just fine without the burden of dating online, our roster keeps dwindling.

Troye Sivan

Lastly comes our king of twinks, Troye Sivan, who made us feel better about our mediocre love lives when he reflected on a particular Grindr date who didn’t wait for their evening to finish before he popped out his phone and started scrolling for the next. Seriously, these people don’t deserve our bloom!

All is fair in love and the Internet

Although dating apps were once the face of innovation, they now feel as dated as 3-month-old poppers. Sure, it gets the job done – kind of – but that powerful rush we used to get is gone.

But in a world crowded with straight bodies, we’re thankful for the ability to filter for just the gay ones and find connection through the convenience of our iPhones.

And knowing there’s that slight possibility we could swipe our way into the hearts of our favorite stars puts an extra pep in our step to find someone to call ours.

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