EXCLUSIVE: Barry Manilow Opens Up About being gay

Singer Barry Manilow has been making music for a long time, and has gained a massive following from the long span of his career. The vocalist has released 28 albums, and was even a constant reference point for Carlton Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The singer's music was one of the inspirations for his hilarious "Carlton Dance."

Now, the singer has publicly come out as gay, revealing that he was literally hiding his sexuality for decades because he felt that he would disappoint his fans. Manilow spoke with People magazine and told them about how he encountered his partner Garry Kief, who is also his manager.

In the interview, Manilow said, "I knew that this was it. I was one of the lucky ones. I was pretty lonely before that." When asked to expand on why he never publicly came out to fans and supporters, he said, "I thought I would be disappointing [my fans] if they knew I was gay. So I never did anything." Despite that thought, Manilow noted that when he finally revealed the information to fans "they were so happy." The two were married and had a private ceremony in 2014. Manilow and Kief have been together for 39 years.

Source: twitter.com