Dame Kelly Holmes enjoyed her first Pride ceremony since coming out publicly as gay two weeks ago.
The athlete, 52, beamed with joy as she went to London Pride dressed in jeans, a black top and a colorful kimono with a rainbow flag at the bottom.
Dame Kelly completed the look with sunglasses and a black crossbody bag with a rainbow stripe in the middle.
She was joined by Alison Hammond and Phillip Schofield, who were both wearing white T-shirts with the ITV logo in rainbow colours.
Dame Kelly had come out publicly as gay just two weeks earlier, because she felt she had to hide her sexuality for 34 years for fear of prosecution.
She revealed that she first realized she was gay at age 17 in 1988 when she kissed a female comrade while she was a soldier in the Women’s Royal Army Corps.
The sports star revealed that she kept her sexuality hidden for fear of being prosecuted because same-sex relationships were banned in the police force, but it was the pandemic that urged her that it was finally time to be her “real self” after having breakdowns and suicidal thoughts of having to hide.
Dame Kelly told the Sunday Mirror that she finally felt ‘free’ after coming out, adding, ‘I had to do this now, for me. It was my decision.
“I’m nervous to say it. I feel like I’m about to explode with excitement. Sometimes I cry with relief. The moment this comes out, I’ll actually be rid of that fear.’
Phillip, 60, also came out later in life, doing so on Instagram in February 2020, before sharing more about his decision to speak out publicly on an episode of This Morning.
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MORE : Tom Daley wishes Dame Kelly Holmes could have come out when she was a competitive athlete rather than now 52 years old
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Metro.co.uk celebrates 50 years of Pride
This year marks 50 years of Pride, so it seems only fitting that Metro.co.uk continues in our continued LGBTQ+ support, through a wealth of content that not only celebrates all things Pride, but also shares stories, the takes time to reflect and raise awareness for the community this Pride Month.
And we also have some great names on board to help us out. From a list of celebrity guest editors taking over the site for a week, including: rob rinder† Nicholas Adams† Peter Tatchelli† Kimberly Hart Simpson† John White† Anna Richardson and dr. Ranjas well as the will of Sir Ian McKellen and Drag Race stars the Vivienne, Lawrence Chaney and Aunt Kofi offer their insights.
During Pride Month, which runs from June 1 – 30, metro.co.uk will also support Kyiv Pride, a Ukrainian charity forced to work harder than ever to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in times of conflict, and the youth homelessness charity AKT. Click here to learn more about their work and what you can do to support them.
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