closet door bustdown

‘Dancing On Ice’ star Colin Grafton comes out: “It’s been a long journey but now I am proud of myself”

By
Image Credit: ‘Dancing On Ice,’ ITV

Here’s some news that has us doing triple lutzes on the ice (metaphorically speaking): 32-year-old figure skater Colin Grafton has come out as gay!

Speaking with Pink News, the athlete shares he’s been out to friends and family for the better part of the past decade, but previously didn’t feel the need to announce his sexuality to the rest of the world.

“I told my closest friends, I told the people around me and I eventually told my parents. I was maybe 24 when all that happened,” Grafton reflects. “I know there’s a lot of curiosity about my sexual orientation and my love life, but I never actually came out to the public.”

“I guess this is me announcing it to you guys,” he adds, making it official.

And there you have it! Congrats on this big step, Colin—we’re thrilled to have you skating for our team!

According to Grafton, the decision to come out now was spurred on by a simple desire to “show that there is representation” for the LGBTQ+ community in any way that he could.

Undoubtedly there are plenty of eyes on the positive role model these days. Recently, he competed on the 16th season of British network ITV’s Dancing On Ice—effectively Dancing With The Stars, but make it ice skating— alongside actress and singer Claire Sweeney.

And he first popped up on our radar with the previous season of Dancing On Ice, skating with Drag Race UK royalty The Vivienne, the series’ first drag competitor, making them one of its first same-sex pairs.

Despite becoming a staple of the British TV program, Grafton is actually American, and was born in New England, where he began training as a figure skater at a young age—which wasn’t always easy.

“I remember feeling so nervous at various points in my childhood,” he tells Pink News. “You know, I’d be skating and the hockey players would come and bang on the side of the rink and shout words. That was something all male skaters had to deal with back then. It wasn’t easy but all of it made me stronger because I took it and focused everything on my sport.”

Grafton says the teasing only made him want to prove everyone wrong, so he worked hard and eventually competed with Team U.S.A. in the World Junior Figure Skating Championships for nearly five years, even winning the bronze medal at the Junior U.S. championships in ’12 alongside partner Kylie Duarte.

After retiring from competitive skating in ’13, Grafton moved into professional performance (skating on a number of European tours) and coaching, which is what eventually brought him to Dancing On Ice—and a whole new level of fame.

Related:

Meet figure skater Colin Grafton, The Vivienne’s history-making ‘Dancing on Ice’ partner

Skating hunk Colin Grafton has got The Vivienne ready for primetime.

He admits he was aware that with all the new attention came quite a bit of public speculation about his sexuality and relationship history, but was nervous that coming out might put him into a box.

“I was really nervous of doing that to myself,” Grafton shares. “It was like,’ OK, if I come out as gay then people are going to think I’m this or that,’ when in reality the human sexuality spectrum is so vast and it’s just one small part of the person you are.”

And while his skating career kept him busy and made it difficult to focus on a relationship, he did find a lot of confidence from Dancing On Ice, particularly after realizing what an impact his partnership with The Vivienne had on others. The pair finished third in the competition that year, and Grafton says they both received a lot of love and support from the community, with some even writing that the duo’s performances gave them “courage to either come out or be themselves.”

Now out personally and professionally, Grafton hopes to continue to be a beacon of hope and pride no matter where his career takes him next:

“It’s been a long journey but now I am proud of myself and I’m proud of my sexual orientation and I want to let other people know that they should be proud of every part of themselves too,” Grafton declares.

“There is no rush and there’s no pressure to come out,” he adds. “You have to do it on your own terms and in your own time and find that love for yourselves. It’s not an easy thing—it’s a journey and a learning experience.”

Scroll down below for more photos from Grafton’s Instagram and see why we’re excited to have him heating up the ice for years to come:

Related:

Figure skater Wesley Campbell on traveling the world & his bromance with Eric Radford

Campbell has been performing in iconic productions such as “Disney on Ice” for 10 years now.

Don't forget to share:

Discover more

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated