BANG Showbiz English
Darren Hayes says his father was the first person to insult him for being gay.
The 50-year-old pop star โ who has been married to Richard Cullen since 2013 and was previously married to Colby Taylor โ explained that his childhood was โtraumatisingโ because his father was a โviolent alcoholicโ who would beat his mum and โinsult himโ about his homosexuality.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: โMy experience was so traumatising. I had a father who was a violent alcoholic and he used to beat my mum and I was a really sensitive little kid. He was the first person to call me a gay slur and he called me the F word.The former Savage Garden star went on to explain that his maternal grandmother had taken her own life and yet his own mother โ who grew up โdirt poorโ and lived in a tent โ continues to be a โsource of loveโ and is the reason he was able to pursue a career in show business.
He said: โAnd my motherโs mother โ my grandma โ committed suicide at the age of 49. And yet my mother is a source of love. She is so positive and so loving and everything I know about forgiveness and kindness comes from her.
โBut she grew up in a tent. Her dad was the kindest man. They were dirt poor, he worked repairing railways so they were called The Railway Children, living in temporary tents on the side of rail tracks with dirt floors. They had nothing yet they felt rich. And sheโs always instilled that feeling in me and thatโs always been my outlook in life.
โThatโs how I was able to come from the family Iโve come from and just watch a Madonna video and think โOh Iโm just gonna do that!โ I wouldnโt wish that on someone but it is like the creation of a diamond.
โA diamond is created through extreme pressure and what it can create is one of the most beautiful and one of the strongest, toughest elements on earth. Some of my favourite people, like Madonna, came from a tragic moment of heartache and if youโre able to maintain a loving heart despite what happens to you โ and weโve all had stuff happen to us. โ
Darrenโs new album โHomosexualโ is out now.