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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle

I can’t tell my best friend I’m gay as he is a straight man who has romantic feelings for me

Woman looking at woman on phone. Man in background with a bunch of flowers
‘I’ve turned him down a number of times so don’t feel I can tell him I might be gay.’ Composite: Guardian Design Team

I am a woman in my mid-20s and my best friend is a straight man. In the past, he has expressed a romantic attraction to me and I’ve turned him down (on three occasions over four years). The final time was quite blunt; I said I was not attracted to him and that wasn’t going to change. Recently, I have been going to gay bars alone, and talking to women online, and I think I may be gay. I feel I can’t talk to him about it because of our history. I value our friendship and don’t want things to change, but it worries me that I feel I can’t be honest with him. Are my feelings more important in this situation?

• When leaving a message on this page, please be sensitive to the fact that you are responding to a real person in the grip of a real-life dilemma, who wrote to Private Lives asking for help, and may well view your comments here. Please consider especially how your words or the tone of your message could be perceived by someone in this situation, and be aware that comments that appear to be disruptive or disrespectful to the individual concerned will be removed.

• If you would like fellow readers to respond to a dilemma of yours, send us an outline of the situation of about 150 words. For advice from Pamela Stephenson Connolly on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns.

• All correspondence should reach us by Wednesday morning. Email:private.lives@theguardian.com(please don’t send attachments).

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