Dame Kelly Holmes has revealed that her mum’s death prompted her to “change” the way she dealt with her sexuality.
The former Olympian’s confession came during an appearance on Loose Women earlier today (Friday, June 24).
Kelly Holmes on Loose Women
Earlier today, the Loose Women welcomed Dame Kelly Holmes onto the show.
Kelly came out as gay on Saturday (June 18) after hiding her sexuality for 34 years.
During today’s edition of the show, Kelly spoke about why she decided that now was the right time to reveal to the world that she was gay.
Kelly revealed that her decision to “change” came just after her mum died four and a half years ago.
“I knew I had to change,” she said. “I knew I needed to be me, but I just didn’t know how to.”
“So it’s taken four years to kind of get to the point of knowing it was right, and then I had a really bad breakdown in 2020,” she said.
Kelly Holmes on coming out as gay
The 52-year-old then continued, explaining another reason as to why she wanted to come out now.
“I just thought, one day, as we all are in society, I’m going to die,” she said.
“And I don’t want my friends and family being the ones at my funeral saying ‘it’s a shame she couldn’t live her life’,” she continued.
Kelly then went on to say that her mum would be “so proud” of her for coming out.
“She always said to me ‘you’ve got to live your life’,” she said.
Kelly opens up
The former Olympian then spoke about how the younger generation is able to live “freely” because generations before them have “fought” for them.
“You’re living your life freely because people before you have fought for you and fought for this moment,” she said.
Read more: As Hairy Biker Dave Myers battles cancer, Si King makes frank admission about future
She then went on to discuss how she met someone in the army who made her realise she was gay.
“She just kissed me and it felt right,” she said.
She added: “I didn’t think I’d ever talk about being a gay woman. Period.”
Kelly’s documentary, Kelly Holmes: Being Me, airs on ITV and ITV Hub on Sunday, June 26, at 10.20pm.
Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of this story.