Oct 28
Luke Evans' Painful Coming Out Journey Revealed in Upcoming Memoir
READ TIME: 11 MIN.
Freedom-of-sorts came when at 16, Evans moved to Cardiff to start his own life. He took a job in a finance company and dated his boss (named David), some 20 years older; but an anonymous letter exposing the couple led to David being fired. Then in a plot twist worthy of Dickens, David's friend – a wealthy businessman – hired him to care for his finances and also insisted on paying for Evans' education as an actor after hearing the teenager sing. Evans studied musical theater for three years; but drifted from David and they broke up, putting Evans in the unenviable situation of being broke and alone in London. He also felt guilty for lying to his parents about his lifestyle. Feeling very alone, he decided to tell his mother his truth. She took it in stride, but withheld the information from Evan's dad.
Evans found his niche as a chorus member in West End musicals, and in 2002 gave an interview to the Advocate in which he discussed being gay. Elders at the Jehovah Witnesses saw it and demanded to know if he were a "practicing homosexual." If so, he would be kicked out of the church. Evans ignored the demand that he return to Aberbargoed; but he couldn't ignore his father, who was devastated upon hearing the news; but also realized he couldn't disavow his only son. His parents were present when he was expelled from the church; but they did not follow the doctrine and break all ties with their son. Instead they walked a delicate balance between their devotion for their religion and their love of their son. Evans returned the favor. When his dad became ill and could not work, Evans was able to buy the property next door to their house as a source of income. The church elders continue to knock on his parents' door to remind them of Evans' sin. Finally David Evans had enough and he told them off. "When I got sick, who put petrol in the car? Who paid for the electricity? Who paid for the food in the fridge? Was it you? No, it was our son," he ranted. "... Don't come to our house and tell us not to speak to our son, because if it wasn't for him we wouldn't even have this house."
The Guardian reporter than asked about a tattoo on Evans' arm that looks like a thinly sketched trace of a heartbeat. "It's actually a D, Y and an L, for David, Yvonne and Luke – my dad, my mam and me," Evans sresponds. "It's eternal. We've been through everything together and I think we will be for ever linked." Another smile. "It's my first tattoo. I was 39. I thought, the only way I'm going to get around this with my mam is to say that I did it with the letters of their names. And it worked a treat!" At 45, he admits he is still a mummy's boy. "When my mam doesn't like something, I still feel it. I want to please them."
Evans has been very upfront about his personal life in the past few years, namely his relationship with Fran Tomas. According to People, the hunky Tomas hails from Madrid, Spain, and works as a project manager in the construction industry, specializing in both residential and commercial projects. According to his LinkedIn, Tomas began his career as an interior designer before becoming an architect and project coordinator.
They made their first appearance in 2022 about the same time Evans wrote a song about his feelings about romance for his recent album, "A Song For You," entitled "Horizons Blue." "Love is a very powerful thing. When you meet that person or you have that moment with someone, something else takes over. And I love the idea of it," he told Attitude at the time.
For more on Luke Evans' upcoming autobiography, "Boy from the Valleys: an unexpected journey," follow this link.
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