Dame Kelly Holmes had lived in fear of judgement, persecution and even being jailed for being a gay woman in the army before she came out as gay in an interview with the Sunday Mirror
Two years ago, Olympic legend Dame Kelly Holmes stood in front of thousands of people in a rainbow kaftan and spoke publicly about her sexuality for the first time.
Her platform was the main stage at London Pride where a crowd was gathered in Trafalgar Square to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community – and to fight for its rights. The Mirror is the proud media partner of London Pride.
After living in fear of judgement, persecution and even being jailed for being a gay woman in the army, Dame Kelly had spent more than three decades hiding behind her sporting success and fame.
But a mental health breakdown following the loss of her mum led her to finally live freely at the age of 52, and she has never looked back. Just days after bravely coming out in an article in the Sunday Mirror, her Pride speech went viral and had crowds chanting in the streets of the capital, her words: “freedom is my voice”.
Tomorrow, as more than 30,000 people from the LGBTQ+ community and their allies join together at London Pride, Dame Kelly pays tribute to the people from that community who have changed her life.
She said: “Standing on that stage was far scarier than being at the starting line of any race. I was there to be my real self, not Kelly the double gold medalist, or Kelly the soldier.
“I had some notes on a piece of paper to remind me what to say but I could barely hold it still. Then as I started to speak and the crowd started to chant with me ‘freedom is my voice’ it was like euphoria. I’d hidden that part of myself for so long but now there I was, being open about it and being cheered on by all those people.
“I felt pride in who I am for one of the first times and since then my life has changed so much. I say to people I feel like I’ve gone from living in black and white to living in colour. I don’t hide any more.
“Because I was always so private about my sexuality I was never a part of the community and I realised when I started meeting people that I had so much still to learn. There have been some incredible people along the way who have helped me to integrate and continue to make me feel as at-home as I did on stage that day. Happy Pride to you all!”.
