Martina talks to campmates about coming out of closet
Navratilova talks to fellow campmates about revealing homosexuality
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Saturday, 29, Nov 2008 06:01
I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! contestant Martina Navratilova has spoken to her fellow campmates about revealing her homosexuality.
The tennis legend, whom Billie Jean King called "the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived", came out publicly in 1981, shortly after being granted US citizenship.
And while talking to Nicola McLean regarding Carly Zucker's resemblance to her current "drop dead beautiful" girlfriend, Martina opened up about her relationship experiences.
"I did have a boyfriend; I lost my virginity with a guy when I was about 17," she revealed. "He was a nice guy but it wasn't quite there.
"Then when I was with the first woman about a year later, it was like 'oh, I'm gay'. It was like coming home, it was clear, and that was my coming out and I knew then that my life wasn’t going to be as easy, it was going to be much more complicated but that's what it is and I've never looked back."
She added: "Physically I could be with a man but emotionally I just have never fallen in love with a guy. You know when you get those butterflies? I just never had them with a guy."
Martina admitted to Nicola that she had been annoyed by the press labelling the home she shared with her partner as a 'love nest'.
"I had a relationship with a woman, we were practically married and then they did a story on the house we lived in as Martina and Judy [Nelson]'s love nest.
"It's not a love nest, it was a home. It drove me nuts."
She continued: "Regarding the fact that I'm gay, I've been out a long time, it's not a big deal, it was then, 25 years ago, but it's a lot easier now."