Jonathan Bailey Reflects on Growing Up Gay, How It Affected His School Life: ‘I Felt Really Scared and I Felt Alone’

Jonathan Bailey is recalling how his sexuality shaped his formative years.

PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive opened up to Sky News about his experience growing up gay and how it affected his school life.

“I felt scared and I felt alone and I felt entirely limited at various points in my life,” the Wicked star, 37, said.

Bailey is an ambassador for the U.K. nonprofit Just Like Us, which works to support LGBTQ+ youth in schools.

The organization found in a survey that LGBTQ+ individuals from the ages of 11 to 18 were twice as likely to experience anxiety and depression, and to be bullied. 

“I experienced all of that,” the actor told Sky News, referencing the statistic. “It became clear quite early on that something that was very specific and clear to me about who I was, it wasn’t safe and it wasn’t celebrated.”

“It feels like you’re in a straight jacket,” he added. 

Bailey was named PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive earlier this month. He is the first openly gay man to hold the title. 

The Bridgerton actor reflected on the honor in an interview with Forbes, sharing his excitment about the opportunity for the LGBTQ+ community.

“There’s nothing sexier than progress,” he said. “Of course, there was no way I wasn’t going to step into that corner this year, when the opportunity arose.”

“There’s something about knowing when that invitation came in, it’s amazing to be able to accept it without a second thought, knowing that it’s meaningful and impactful, as well as just an incredible and hilarious honor,” Bailey added. “It’s not lost on me at all.”

After Bailey was given the honor, the non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD issued a statement celebrating the “pop culture milestone.”

“For decades, LGBTQ actors were excluded from conversations around leading-man appeal and blockbuster film franchises,” GLAAD Vice President of Communications & Talent Anthony Allen Ramos said. “Seeing an out gay actor star in some of the most successful movies of recent times and celebrated by PEOPLE in this way sends a powerful message to the industry that audiences everywhere know that authenticity is attractive.”

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During Bailey’s cover story interview with PEOPLE, he opened up about growing more comfortable in his skin as he got older.

“At various moments in my life, I’ve been like, ‘I’ve got this,’ which is sometimes met by a deep spike of fear and self-doubt. When I was really young, I was very confident about who I was, and maybe I lost that as I grew up,” he said. 

“We’re all sort of trying to get back to the origin, aren’t we? But I was swimming in the sea about an hour ago with a good gang, and I felt all right in my skin,” Bailey continued.