Jonathan Bailey may be a world-famous actor thanks to his breakout role in Bridgerton, but his reason for not wanting children yet is not so dissimilar to the average person’s: he’s simply too busy. Of course, “busy” is a relative term, but as a cast member of the recently released box-office hit Wicked, it’s safe to say he has very little free time.
“Yes, it’s such a privilege for a man,” he told British Vogue, noting that he doesn’t face the same pressures as a woman to have kids. “But I can’t bring children into my lifestyle now.” Because he is so busy? “Yes,” he said.
He continued, “I want to make sure I’m going to be present. I’m reading books on adoption. I might coparent with a woman, but I’m thinking it will be with a man.”
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Bailey has been open about his sexuality since coming out publicly in 2018 (in the same interview, he told British Vogue that he came out to his friends and family roughly 15 years ago, in his early 20s). The “binary” felt like a “this or that” choice at the time, but it’s more nuanced now, he says.
“I think other people understood my sexuality before I was even aware of it,” he continued. “I remember looking through the window at these girls at school in their tutus. They were doing, like, first position, second position, and I knew I just wanted to be in there.”
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The actor began his career on stage, but when he was cast as Viscount Anthony Bridgerton in the TV show that took Netflix by storm in 2021, everything changed. Since then, Bailey has skyrocketed to fame. In the Wicked film adaptation, he plays Prince Fiyero, a.k.a. Elphaba‘s love interest; in the forthcoming Jurassic Park remake, titled Jurassic Park Rebirth, he will star alongside Scarlett Johansson as Dr. Henry Loomis.
For her part, Johansson isn’t shy about singing Bailey’s praises. Stepping out recently for the London premiere of Transformers One, she happily gushed about her new co-star to Entertainment Tonight: “I adore absolutely every single thing about that man,” she said.
