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Tatum O鈥橬eal- Is She Gay, Bi, Or Straight?

Tatum Beatrice O鈥橬eal is an American actress who made history by becoming the youngest woman to win an Oscar Award. When she was ten years old, O鈥橬eal was part of the film 鈥楶aper Moon鈥� alongside her father, Ryan O鈥橬eal. The actress rose to fame at a young age becoming one of the most highly sought-after actresses in the world.

After taking Hollywood by storm at a young age, O鈥橬eal, now fifty-nine years appeared in several other movies such as 鈥楲ittle Darlings鈥�, 鈥楾he Bad News鈥�, 鈥楢nd Ryan and Tatum,鈥� among others. She gained a huge followership during her peak between the 1970s and 2000s as an actress. However, having many fans comes with a prize to pay and her prize was to allow people to know about her private life including her sexual orientation and gender identity.

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O鈥橬eal was married to John McEnroe between 1986 and 1994, with whom they had three children before divorcing. The couple had two sons and one daughter together during their eight years of marriage. The former tennis player gained custody of the children following O鈥橬eal鈥檚 addiction to drugs.

After a few years of soul searching, the actress discovered her sexuality in her mid-thirties after separating from her husband and has never been shy to speak about being different. She spoke candidly about her sexuality when she was interviewed by The People magazine back in 2015.

According to the Oscar winner, dating women is easier because she feels that women are more caring than men.

鈥�I like women,鈥� she tells The People Magazine. 鈥淚 definitely have been dating mostly women recently,鈥� she continued. When recounting on her recent dates, the star says that she does not recall the last time she had a romantic relationship with a man. She says that she is not interested in dating men since her experiment with women.

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While many people might be surprised by her coming out, the actress revealed that she had been in romantic relationships with women for a long time. She began her adventure back in the 1990s when she was still young.

鈥淚 went on my first date with a woman in the 鈥�90s, after I got divorced from my husband. I was in my thirties then and knew I was interested in women, but I was a little uncomfortable with it 鈥� I just couldn鈥檛 manage it,鈥� she recalls during the interview.

Just like any other woman, O鈥橬eal was uncomfortable with her relationship with women at first until she had gone on a few dates. However, most of her first dates in the 90s came when she was on alcohol and drugs. Therefore she says that those dates did not count. She went through a tough time to become clean and went on to rediscover herself.

The 鈥楻yan and Tatum鈥� star recalls her encounters with women after becoming clean and she says she loved being with women. Realizing that she was romantically attracted to women drastically changed everything in her life.

鈥�It鈥檚 changed my relationships with my children, my relationship with work, my relationships with people, and my relationship with myself. Now I鈥檓 clean and aware and alive and interested in the world, saying, 鈥淒ating women is exciting to me, and this is turning me on,鈥� she said with confidence.

Her history with drugs has been the reason why many people question her decision to come out of the closet. When she had an addiction, O鈥橬eal had hit the national news for a series of drug abuse. In 2008, she was arrested in Manhattan when she was found purchasing cocaine from unknown sellers. Addiction to drugs wasted a good portion of her life and she says that becoming clean has been the best moment of her life.

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While narrating her series of encounters with women in recent years to People Magazine, the actress stated that she is more interested in women about her age because they have experience with life and are less likely to provide more than just sex.

鈥淚鈥檓 not going to date 30-year-olds, because there鈥檚 not enough life experience. I鈥檓 not just interested in sex, you know? There needs to be a little bit more to the relationship. But it鈥檚 still a whole new world for me. It鈥檚 exhilarating,鈥� O鈥橬eal said in the interview.

Tatum O鈥橬eal says that many people do not understand why there are women who are interested in dating other women. She disagrees with people who think that being bisexual, gay, or lesbian is someone鈥檚 choice. She does not have a clear explanation because she has not had a lot of experience dating women.

The actress鈥檚 family, including her children, helped her to come to terms with her sexuality. She says that after divorcing her husband, she could not imagine how her children would feel if she fell in love with another man. Therefore dating a woman made more sense because the children would never take another man as a father.

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鈥淲hen I started dating women, my children never gave it a second thought. I think my having a man around would probably have been weird for them, having such a strong father. Their father was enough man for them, for all of us. I don鈥檛 mean that in a bad way; he鈥檚 just very macho, you know?鈥� she told The People Magazine. Therefore her husband鈥檚 tough nature also contributed to her dating women.

However, the mother of three refused to put a label on her sexuality when she was asked about whether or not she identified as bisexual. 鈥淚’m not one or the other,鈥� she said referring to being bisexual, gay, or lesbian.

Many people put labels on their sexual orientation but O鈥橬eal says that labels are limiting. Therefore we can only speculate about her sexual orientation, possibly putting her under the bisexual because of her encounter with both men and women.

The actress said in the interview that she was single because she had not found a steady relationship but she was ready and looking forward to having one in the future.