'Quite traumatic' The Apprentice star Ryan-Mark says coming out as gay caused family rift
The Apprentice star Ryan-Mark Parsons has revealed how coming out as gay caused a rift with his family, admitting that he hasn't heard from them in "two years".The youngest-ever Apprentice contestant, 21, who is appearing on Celebs Go Dating soon in a bid to find love, made the revelation in a new interview, branding the incident as "traumatic" and he has since shared the impact it had on his relationship with his family.The star claims that his family found out about his sexuality after gossip between his Apprentice co-stars got back to them before he had a chance to break the news.Ryan-Mark realised he was gay when he was 15 but hadn't confided in his family, only close friends.However, he admitted to telling his Apprentice co-stars in 2019, when he appeared on the show, before claiming that one of them "leaked" the news.Speaking about the incident, he said: "The whole thing left me feeling despondent, deflated and it left me and my family traumatised.”It was only when the show aired later that year, that Ryan-Mark realised that his family had found out about his sexuality.Describing a phone call with his mum, the star said he "could just tell something was wrong".He explained: "She was distant and was giving me short answers."We are so close and I quickly realised that what I had said in confidence on the show had filtered out through social media to my family."They knew I was gay before I had a chance to tell them on my own terms," he added.Addressing the situation, Ryan-Mark told how he didn't deny his sexuality to his "staunch Roman Catholic" family, branding it a "traumatic" experience.He believed that his family was "in shock" after hearing the news secondhand, before adding that his mum was at first "in.
