Celebrity hair salon Chris Appleton he recalled experiencing suicidal ideation during the “darkest” part of his life at age 26 while trying to come to terms with his sexuality.
“I don’t remember much. I was in the hospital for a while,” Appleton, 42, said during the “Road Files” podcast. on Wednesday, January 14. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘Well, I couldn’t hate myself anymore. I couldn’t try to run away from myself anymore. I couldn’t try to avoid who I was anymore.’
She added: “I didn’t really know what was next. I didn’t really know the next steps, but this was the beginning of the journey to find acceptance.”
Appleton’s ex-girlfriend Katie Katon she was the one who located his phone and called an ambulance. Appleton dated Katon, with whom she shares son Billy and daughter Kitty-Blu, from 19 to 26 when their “relationship broke down”. The hairdresser said during Wednesday’s episode of the podcast that he “started to explore” his sexuality after their split.
Check out the heartwarming and inspiring stories of LGBT celebrities over the years, including Wentworth Miller, Ellen Page, Jodie Foster and more.
“My whole life I was ashamed. That’s why I wasn’t authentically myself,” Appleton added. “But when you’re not aligned internally and externally, it’s a really sad place to be.”
(If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.)
Keep scrolling for Appleton’s candid quotes about her sexuality from her “Viall Files” appearance:
When did Chris Appleton start his career?
Appleton recalled being “bullied very aggressively” in the early days of his career after working in a hair salon at the age of 13. The stereotype at the time was that “anyone who worked in a hair salon” was gay. Appleton wasn’t out yet.
“It was bad. I got spat on, I got beaten up. Not just because people assumed I was gay because I was doing my hair,” she said.
Appleton noted that he was “so fixated on proving everyone wrong” that he repressed his sexuality.
“I really let go. At a very young age, I let go of who I was and that little kid who just needed to know that he was going to be okay, and I focused,” Appleton explained. “It really helped me in my career, absolutely, but personally, it was a terrible thing.”
Why did Chris Appleton move to America?
Appleton moved from the UK after coming out as gay because he “felt too ashamed” to leave his past life with a girlfriend and two children.
“I ran away, I moved to America. Yes, I would say it was because of my work. Absolutely. There was a great motivation,” he explained. “I have to erase my roots. I have to say, ‘I’m not that guy.'”
Did Chris Appleton know he was gay?
The hairdresser explained that he didn’t always know he was gay.
“When I was having sex, I wasn’t thinking about boys. I wasn’t watching gay porn. I wasn’t secretly seeing men,” Appleton explained. “I was happy. I was doing my thing.”
How did Chris Appleton come out to his children?
Appleton’s biggest concern about talking to her two sons was causing them “pain.” She called it her “huge failure” and felt “so ashamed” of how her sexuality would affect their lives.
“Kids can be very nasty. So I felt that I was bringing them this pain,” she recalled. “That broke me. I just said, ‘It would be better if their father were dead than if they had a gay father.’ I honestly believed that.”
Chris Appleton had a hilarious reaction when Khloé Kardashian admitted she would “totally” have sex with him. “I would definitely fuck Khloé. She’s hot. So, I mean, what man wouldn’t? Plus, she’s fun,” the 41-year-old celebrity hairstylist told TMZ on Thursday (April 10). “Khloé always has a good time. Khloé could have fun in a paper bag.” (…)
When he sat down with the kids, Appleton “couldn’t tell them.” When she finally told them, Appleton recalled her son feeling “confused” while her daughter was more “upset” and wanted her father “to be OK.”
Where is Chris Appleton with his ex-girlfriend Katie Katon?
Appleton said he and Katon are “still best friends” and have a “great relationship” even though they’re no longer together.
“We still talk all the time, and it’s real love,” she explained. “We have an unconditional love, I think, because we have these two kids that, despite being dysfunctional, it works.”
Is Chris Appleton in a relationship now?
After his 2023 separated from ex-husband Lukas GageAppleton has been single for two years.
“I think going public is obviously quite intense. Everyone has an opinion about your private life,” she said of her past romance. “It was just about having fun.”
Appleton has changed what she looks for in a partner, noting that “actions (speak) louder than words.” He is also more cautious when it comes to new relationships.
“I’m a little more thoughtful. I think about where I am in my life. What do I need in my life. What would be aligned. What would work,” she said. “When you realize it, the sad truth is that the pool of people is much smaller, but you’re much more selective.”