Harry Styles Recalls Sexuality Stressing Him Out: I Was ‘Ashamed’ by ‘People Even Knowing That I Was Having Sex’

usmagazine.com:

He wasn’t always a sex symbol. Harry Styles opened up about feeling very secretive about his sex life and even feeling “ashamed” about his experiences.“For a long time, it felt like the only thing that was mine was my sex life,” the “As It Was” singer, 28, revealed to Better Homes and Gardens magazine in their June 2022 cover story, released on Tuesday, April 26.He continued, “I felt so ashamed about it, ashamed at the idea of people even knowing that I was having sex, let alone who with.”Styles, who has been dating Olivia Wilde since late 2020, rose to fame on the UK’s X Factor at age 15, and his contracts with One Direction allegedly had “cleanliness clauses,” specific stipulations about his behavior.

The idea that he could lose his career if he made a mistake in his personal life or accidentally said the wrong thing in an interview created a lot of anxiety.“At the time, there were still the kiss-and-tell things.

Working out who I could trust was stressful,” Styles said. “But I think I got to a place where I was like, why do I feel ashamed?

I’m a 26-year-old man who’s single; it’s like, yes, I have sex.”The England native recalled learning that his solo contract with Columbia Records had no such clauses. “I felt free,” he explained to the magazine, adding that he burst into tears at the time.The “Watermelon Sugar” performer, who has been open about attending therapy (even giving his therapist a shout-out at a November 2021 concert), explained that he was working on his issues with intimacy and love.