life partners

Fitness guru Jake Williamson & his BF serve #relationshipgoals as they celebrate four years together

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Jake Williamson often celebrates athletic accomplishments on social media. But the British fitness influencer recently commemorated another big milestone: his four-year anniversary!

On Wednesday, Williamson shared a photo with his partner Paul, whom he calls his “rock.” More than 11,000 admirers (and counting) have “liked” the post.

Williamson, a former semi-pro soccer player who publicly came out in 2021, isn’t shy about sharing his personal life. He often talks about how he was originally in denial of his attraction to men, due to the lack of out role models in male pro athletics.

“You push it so far to the back of your mind that you never act on any sort of urges, obviously, because you personally don’t think it’s OK,” he said in an interview with the BBC LGBT Sports Podcast. “It says a lot about role models and feeling accepted in a community when there isn’t really a community to be part of.”

Though Williamson publicly came out in 2021, he started exploring his gay feelings for the first time right before COVID. That’s when he signed up for a Tinder account and matched with Paul.

Though they met once before lockdowns were enacted in the U.K., their relationship started slowly. It took about six months for Jake to realize he may have found his romantic partner.

“About six months in was when I thought this was going to get more serious than I thought it was going to be,” he said. “That’s when I started to accept being gay, and that was a turning point. I’ve been with Paul ever since.”

@jakewilliamsonpt

Meeting my partner ??

? I Got It – thuy

With lockdowns still prevalent in late 2020 and early 2021, it was a challenge for the guys to meet, especially since Jake was living with his parents. So he would conjure up stories about waking up early to play golf with his friend “Ed.”

Little did his parents know, he was driving up to Birmingham to see Paul. It was an effective ruse, until his parents noticed the mileage he was racking up on their car.

“I would leave at like 6:00 a.m. and I wouldn’t get back till 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. because I’d driven up to Birmingham and be like, ‘Long game of golf with this one. Eighteen holes isn’t long enough, so we did two,'” he said.

“It started to get a bit fishy, because I shared the car at that point, and the car started racking up some serious mileage from going up to Birmingham and back.”

One of the first magical moments for Jake and Paul came one day while they were taking his dog for a walk. Lost in each other, they locked hands, and have never looked back.

“I remember vividly, we used to take my dog for a walk. And I just remember, for the first time ever, we just held hands, and at that point, it was the most powerful experience still today that I’ve ever had in my life,” said Jake.

“You would think that’s so strange, but literally, I held his hand and I just internally I just thought, ‘Yeah, this is it. I need to I need to just sort of bite the bullet’, and I was ready,” he added.

@jameswallis_

@Jake Williamson ????????? tells me how he dated his now boyfriend when he was still in the closet. A super ronantic story that will make you feel warm and fuzzy. #datingstory #gaydating #podcastclips #inthecloset #lgbt #fyp

? Skyline – Khalid

With nearly 180,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, Williamson posts about his life on a near daily basis. He dispenses inspirational advice and shares his athletic feats, such as when he sets a world record.

But interestingly, he doesn’t post too much about Paul. He says that’s because he’s often felt self-conscious about their relationship. In addition to being gay, there’s a 20-year age difference between them.

For a long time, the unconventionality of their partnership caused Jake to shield their love from public view. As we head further into 2024, he’s vowing to change that.

“I often get asked why I don’t post Paul much, and the biggest reason was probably fear” he said. “I’m very aware that our relationship isn’t very mainstream, in the fact that firstly we’re two males, and secondly there’s a 20-year age gap.”

“The more comfortable I can get knowing that showing us together actually gives hope and visibility to thousands of others who don’t get to see this visual representation on a daily basis also gives me the opportunity to show and share our lives and how much love that we have for one another.”

“All I know is that without him, I wouldn’t be half the human I am today.”

With a message like that, we’re hoping Jake continues to broadcast their relationship to the world. Clearly, their bond is quite special!

But unfortunately, not everybody has always felt that way. When Williamson first came out and talked about his relationship, his soccer teammates shut him out.

“It’s bad enough that, in the society we live in, we get made to feel like we’re the worst thing on earth sometimes–so it’s not nice when your own football team just cuts you off,” he said. “It didn’t stop me playing football but it was something that made me say: ‘Right, I need to address this rather than be sad about it.’”

That disturbing experience prompted Williamson to speak out, and start sharing his story.

“I started posting more videos about being gay in sport and realized that a lot of people could really benefit from seeing someone in the sporting industry be proud of the life they lead,” he said. “Once I did this, my ability to train and athletic performance just kept improving.”

We’ll say! Last year, Williamson set a world record in Hyrox, a competitive, indoor fitness event that combines running with functional movements.

Related:

Out soccer stud Jake Williamson sets a world record in athletics & thirst traps

Williamson recently set British and world record for a sport called Hyrox.

An avid runner, Williamson is currently preparing for a big race in Copenhagen. We’ll be cheering him on!

As an official ambassador for Lululemon and other brands, Williamson regularly posts inspirational slogans. One of them is “BTND,” which means “better the next day.”

He says the name originates from when he and Paul would make food, and just check in on each other. They would text the letters “BTND” to one another, as a reminder to always look forward.

“I can’t wait to see where we can take what was once a little message about food to now a core message and the ability to change peoples lives for the better,” Williamson posted earlier this month.

If past is prologue, Williamson will keep spreading the “BTND” gospel, inspiring a limitless number of LGBTQ+ people. With Paul at his side, anything is possible.

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