Lukas Gage Shares How Embracing His Sexuality Transformed His Career

Madelyn Cline and Lukas Gage Have Best Reaction to Rumors They're Dating.

Lukas Gage is done overcompensating for his life.

After the White Lotus alum confirmed that he was "90 percent gay, 10 percent straight," following years of speculation over his sexuality, he shared insight into embracing his queerness.

"I was comfortable with my sexuality with the people that I cared about," Gage told E! News in an exclusive interview. "It was the people that didn't know me that I was the most fearful about."

However, he revealed that his perspective eventually shifted.

"I don't know what happened, maybe it's growing older or maybe it's just life experience," he reflected, adding, "if people don't want to work with me because of how I identify or who I have sex with, they're probably people I don't want to work with anyway."

The Overcompensating actor—who was previously married to celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton in 2023 for seven months—emphasized that there was a "certain element of caring less" he developed as he got older.

"When you're younger, it feels more intense than it actually is, or more important," he said, "but ultimately, the right people are going to find you."

Gage, whose journey was also chronicled in his 2025 memoir I Wrote This for Attention, found a sense of peace when he became more comfortable with his sexuality.

"It was like I could take a deep breath," he recalled. "At first, having a secret can be fun and it can feel like you're mysterious. Then it starts to eat away at you and you just can't keep up with it anymore."

"Just being upfront was the thing that allowed me to be more free," he continued, "allowed my work to be better and allowed me actually to work with the right people. It aligned me in the right way."

Brianna Bryson/FilmMagic

Now, the 31-year-old's confidence has taken him to new heights, including a partnership with biopharmaceutical company Gilead for its HealthySexual campaign to empower conversations about sexual health.

"I feel very passionate about getting the message out about sexual health, about preventative options like testing, PrEP," he told E!. "It was something that I felt really passionate about and wanted to spread awareness about."

It was especially important for Gage, who once felt out of his depth when it came to sexual wellness.

"I've always been pretty open about sexuality as a conversation, but," he explained, "I felt like I was less informed about the sexual health aspect of it."

So, it was a perfect partnership, adding, "It was something that I felt really important and felt authentic to me."

For more celebs who've shared insight into their sexuality, keep reading.

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