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Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey has electric chemistry with pretty much everyone he’s paired with onscreen. Season two of the hit Netflix series showed him and Simone Ashley falling in a passionate love that launched a thousand GIFs across social media. Fans also shipped him with actor Matt Bomer after seeing them together in the mini series Fellow Travelers. The man just knows how to look like he’s falling in love.
But as far as anyone knows, Bailey has not dated any of his co-stars. He has talked about his sexuality and grappling with homophobia in Hollywood, opening up in an interview with GQ in 2022. The Crashing star said another actor told him that there are “two things we don’t want to know: if you’re an alcoholic or if you’re gay.”
“All it takes is for one of those people in that position of power to say that, and it ripples through,” Bailey said. “So, yeah, of course I thought that. Of course, I thought that in order to be happy, I needed to be straight…I reached a point where I thought, ‘Fuck this.’ I’d much prefer to hold my boyfriend’s hand in public or be able to put my own face picture on Tinder and not be so concerned about that than getting a part.”
That said, Bailey does tend to keep his private life private. In December 2023, he told the Evening Standard that he is dating a “lovely man” without naming names.
“It’s not secret, but it’s private,” he explained. “Having a private life is, for me, completely critical. I don’t know if I would be able to be as confident to speak out on other things if I felt that my whole life was up for grabs.”
Here’s what we do know about Jonathan Bailey’s dating life.
James Ellis
It’s believed that Bailey was in a relationship with actor James Ellis, dating him around 2019. The rumored couple seemed to confirm their relationship at the Olivier Awards that year when Bailey won for his role in Company. Before going to accept his award, he gave Ellis a kiss.
In his speech, he shared a bit about queer identity and the role of Company in LGBTQ+ storytelling.
“You know, at a time where acknowledging the very existence of LGBTQ people in our schools is being questioned, we have been able to, as a company, show a lovely and celebratory snapshot of gay love,” Bailey said. “That LGBTQ people really aren’t that different. We’re not that different. We are just as anxious, and we’re just as flawed and desperate to fall in love as everyone else. Thank you to the cast, this is for you!”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.