Darren Hayes took to Instagram to let his fans know that he was safe from the LA fires:
“I’m safe from the LA fires which feels like a selfish thing to post but only doing so because of the many caring and concerned who have reached out. This could change in an instant. I live adjacent to a mandatory evacuation zone. This was the sky near midnight last night but no fires anywhere in sight. Following all of the orders from the police and fire departments. I am of course devastated for what is happening and for my friends who have lost homes and all of us who live here who have seen our community burn to the ground. So grateful to fire fighters and everyone who went from zero to 100 in a nanosecond to help those in need. I feel strangely sad and numb. Unable to sleep last night because things could change in a heartbeat. I’ll keep you updated if my neighborhood changes from ‘warning’ to ‘evacuate’.”
In an update post where he shared an image of his dog, he said the following:
“I’m so lucky my goddaughter and her folks took us in. We are safe and evacuated out of precaution. The red zone is literally at the end of my street. So many of my friends have lost their homes. This is devastating. Just praying this ends soon.”
Unfortunately, due to the blazing fires, over 200,000 people were forced to flee their homes.
Kristin’s thoughts: Hearing about disasters that cause severe damage to homes, lives, and animals is always heartbreaking. With that being said, I am really relieved to know that Darren and his dog made it out safely.
Darren Hayes on his past with Savage Garden and their last show in Sydney Australia before Daniel Jones would call it quits:
“There was never an official audience head count, but I could not see the end of the audience. It reminded me of very famous concerts I’d seen as a child, like Michael Jackson at Wembley.”
The show took place towards the end of the “Affirmation” tour, which started in Tokyo, Japan. It was there that Daniel informed Darren of his desire to leave the band. Darren later shared how deeply this affected him emotionally and how it also influenced his career as he started his solo journey in his book “Unlovable.”
Despite knowing the band was disbanding, Darren still aimed to please his devoted fans.
“We had to take our arena show and transform it and make it so wide so that it would be a stadium-sized production,” Darren goes on to recall, that he’d not anticipated the toll the size of the stage would have on him. I was very out of breath a lot of the time because the sheer width of the stage was massive and I started to lose my voice during the show.”
“I’m very critical of myself. I was so devastated. I felt like I had given the audience a bad show. At the end of the show I did lose my voice.”
“I just gave everything I could give. It was extraordinary.”
In his book, he talks about how he created a persona during his Savage Garden days, which he imagined as a child to shield himself from his difficult childhood with his abusive and alcoholic father. This persona was inspired by his favorite pop stars from the past, such as Madonna, Michael Jackson, Elvis, and others.
“Everything about me was armour to protect me from being seen. I was suffering from imposter syndrome and a lot of that was because of my sexuality. And my fear was if you really knew who I was, would you hate me? I was slowly trying to test that if I showed the world who I really was, could I get closer to loving myself? What I was trying to do was take away everything that I felt was a mask to see if people still loved me.”
Although Darren feels more at ease with himself and his sexual identity, he still enjoys wearing costumes; he even uses four different perfumes to make a lasting impression on fans when they are close to him.
“Everything I do is carefully curated and thought about because I love fans. And when I meet people, I want to leave an impression because the magic is still so important to me. Fans are literally sacred to me. If I have a chance to lift someone up, I’m gonna do it, because who else has that job? It can be a very corrupting power because it can just serve your ego.”
Darren also shares a story in his book about him and his older sister, Tracey, meeting Stevie Nicks in 1990 outside the Hilton Hotel before a Fleetwood Mac concert.
“I remember how Stevie made me feel,” Hayes says, adding that he wants his fans to walk away from an experience with him with similar feelings of elation. The fans make me feel so loved and that’s real. It’s beyond flops … those people are there, no matter what.”
Darren characterizes his book as more than just a celebrity memoir; it is a story about overcoming abuse and dealing with trauma.
Although Darren has previously discussed his difficult childhood, his book provides a deeper insight into how challenging his upbringing truly was.
Darren wants his readers and audiobook listeners to understand that
“it’s possible to break cycles of abuse”.
“It takes one member of the family to be brave enough to speak out and it’s so hard to do that because families don’t mean to do it, but they gatekeep secrets because of shame.”
“I’ve been through so much in my life, but it’s a testimony to how if you are brave enough to really look at those parts of yourself that are in pain, you can survive.”
“I just wanted it to be a tribute to my mother.”
When asked how his mother helped shape the man he is today, Darren responded with:
“My mother never had romantic love, which is heartbreaking. She never felt love. She was beaten up on her wedding night. My father was a police officer at the time. That was a secret we were never allowed to share. She could never leave him and I just know, as a songwriter and as a romantic, how much love and romantic love has meant for me in my life. And she taught me all about that.”
“She sacrificed any sense of romantic love in order to protect her children until such times as the law, and then the miracle of my career, gave her the financial means to leave him.”
As for his sister, Darren had this to say:
“sacrificed a childhood, she didn’t have one.”
Darren said this his mother and sister:
“Had to confide and conspire with each other to survive”
Darren also said this about his mother:
“She sacrificed most of her life and her happiness so that I could be here today”
One of Savage Garden’s most powerful songs is “Two Beds and a Coffee Machine,” which tells the story of the abuse his mother faced while with Robert Hayes. It describes a mother who had to escape with her three children to stay in hotels.
“one of the best songs we’d ever written”
Darren nearly chose not to release the song, as he was still hiding his difficult childhood from the fans at the time.
“I called her back in the day and said, ‘Mum, I’ve written this song and are you OK with this?’ back when it was anonymous, back when she was still under my father’s thumb.”
His mother initially allowed Darren to release the song, but later had a change of heart. However, by that time, the band had already spent more than $100,000 on the recording, making it too late to cancel the release.
“And it’s the only time I’ve said ‘no’ to my mother. I said, ‘Mum, think of what this will do for people’.
“She thinks I’m so brave for being honest about that, she feels the same way about that song as she does about this book.”
In 2000, the year the band disbanded, Darren was invited by the famous Italian singer Luciano Pavarotti to sing a duet.
“It was a very significant because it was the beginning of me being a solo artist.”
“I remember performing with him and him just looking over at me and beaming like a proud father. And he said ‘bravo’ at the end of the song which apparently he doesn’t say to many people.”
They sang O Sole Mio for the concert together. At times it looked like Darren was receiving the Italian lyrics from a teleprompter.
“I learned it phonetically so a teleprompter wouldn’t have helped me. I don’t want to be disrespectful of the maestro, but I believe the teleprompter was for him. He was absolutely charming. This sounds like I’m giving myself a compliment, but he just loved the quality of my voice.”
In his book Darren, calls the duet with Pavarotti his “most cherished memory” from his career.
Although fans were excited about Darren’s return with his album “Homosexual,” he was dealing with a personal loss.
“In my private life, I was going through the end of a relationship.”
In May 2023, Darren and his husband, who had been together for 17 years, decided to end their relationship.
To show respect, Darren kept the details of the relationship brief, but he mentioned:
“I did make a lot of sacrifices in order to get married”.
One sacrifice he made was selling his seaside house in Sausalito, California, and relocating to the UK.
“It broke my heart to leave, but I was willing to give up my green card and give up the one place in the world where I really felt at home, for love. Well, it didn’t work out, but I managed to somehow get back to the US, which was sort of a consolation prize. And living in Santa Monica was a consolation prize because I’d written that song about Santa Monica in Savage Garden and magical things ended up happening because of that, that I could not have foreseen.”
On his time out of the spotlight:
“I made myself very, very small for lots of reasons that I regret.”
“You witnessed me flourishing and coming back in 2022 and what you didn’t realize was that my marriage was ending at that time and, but I had made peace with that. And I realized that I completely turned my back on music, which was this complete source of joy for me.”
For Darren, Madonna was the person who made him realize how much he enjoyed being a performer. After watching her perform in Los Angeles in 2024, where she talked about being placed in a medically induced coma just a year earlier and how she received a second chance at life, Darren felt as if he had also been granted a second chance.
“I will always give fans what they want, and that includes performing Savage Garden’s songs on tour.”
Darren recalls fans crying during his 2023 tour. They were older and had never seen Savage Garden live, and they never thought they would have the chance to see him.
“They told me personally, ‘I never thought I would get to hear you sing this song live’. And that really hit home for me, that I hold this sort of lever of happiness, which I can shut it off forever, or I can just leave it open. And I think as long as I’m healthy, as long as I can, I’ll always give people what they want because they gave me this extraordinary life.”
Darren has confirmed that he is in the studio creating a new album and is also developing 21 fresh songs for a musical he hopes to produce.
“It’s essentially my book Unlovable, but as a Steven Spielberg film, it’s fantastical. It’s this magical version of a boy who just happens to have a very similar life to mine.”
When asked if he will star in it, laughing he says:
“Only if an investor needs me to be.”
“It’s been written and I now I want to make it clear that hey, if the investors are out there and they want to talk to Darren Hays about a musical, I have one. So let’s talk.”
Darren on his days of being bullied:
“What I realised, just through bullying, is that the thing that makes you a target is actually the thing that makes you extraordinary. I was bullied because I stood out and I thought I stood out because there was something wrong with me, but I stood out because I just shone.”
“If you stick your head up above the crowd, you see the view.”
Darren on his best quality:
“I just seem to be very resilient and I love that about me. Even in the worst moments of my life, I seem to have what I call these glass-half-full cells that annoyingly start to multiply. At the depths of my lowest, lowest moments, I will allow myself to wallow for a while and then all of a sudden these cells start dividing and they start saying, ‘hey, but what about this? What about that?’ And I get that from my mum.”
Kristin’s thoughts: Darren Hayes’s book “Unlovable” was launched on November 5, 2024. If you haven’t grabbed a copy yet, you really should; it’s an incredible read that explores Darren’s life in depth, including his difficult childhood marked by severe abuse from his alcoholic father, the bullying and mockery he faced due to his sexuality, and the traumatic domestic violence his poor mother suffered at the hands of her husband. It also revisits the Savage Garden era and the betrayal Darren experienced from Daniel Jones, among other things. This book is truly a tearjerker; I found myself needing to pause several times while reading it.
Unlovable truly is one of my favorite books; it is just that darn good.
Bless Darren’s heart; he has truly faced a lot, but like a phoenix emerging from the ashes, he has come out resilient. His willingness to share his story and his courage will undoubtedly assist many others who have experienced similar hardships, just as I have. I also grew up facing physical and emotional abuse and was relentlessly bullied in school, so I understand all too well the deep pain that comes with such experiences.
I shared the picture so that no one would need to click on the article just to view it. The image was uploaded by Darren Hayes on his Facebook account in 2024; it features two photos of him, side by side, taken two years apart. The post received a lot of likes, and many followers commented on how attractive he looked.
This is what Darren had to say about his transformation:
“I’m 52. Pic on the left is after about a year of boxing, basecamp and Barry’s boot camp. Pic on the right was just after I came back from tour 2 years ago. Exercise is HARD as you get older but it keeps me sane.”
Kristin’s thoughts: While I agree Darren is a good-looking man, I did read some comments that bothered me; it seemed like they were viewing him as an object rather than a person. It felt as if they were implying he looked better because he got “fit”; the reality is, he was great just as he was. I’m not saying that exercising, eating well, and trying to be healthy are negative things, but our beauty should not and does not depend solely on our looks. Remember what Darren mentioned in the song Affirmation? He said, “I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul.” Darren possesses a kind heart and soul. So let’s value him for who he truly is, and not reduce him to an object. Thank you.
Here is what Darren Hayes had to say about why he chose to do “The Masked Singer” show even though he had said on social media prior that he wasn’t interested in doing it:
“I had just had a bit of a rough year. The whole world knows I was going through a divorce, and I have a very tender heart. I knew about the divorce when I put my album out, so it was a couple of years of just really putting my feelings out there, a lot of that record was dealing with that subject. I was reclaiming myself and coming back from a self-imposed sort of exile and trying to love myself again. I went straight onto a world tour, I toured Australia, a huge UK run, and then the US. And at the end of it, I was faced with either just sitting in my feelings and dealing with the grief. Or I could go and do this fun TV show. And so I went, ‘fun TV show!”
More thoughts from Darren:
“I think I have a love or hate voice. people either love it or hate it. I thought ‘I’m going to be guessed immediately’ which is what happened, but I thought I would just be voted off.”
“I’m really bad at business. I thought that the network would just be like… I mean, it was a generous paycheque. I thought, ‘You’re not going to pay me this every week!’. This is how stupid I am at business. So I thought, sure, I’ll do this. And I signed the contract. But I thought they were not going to keep me on the show. Like, they’ll vote me off. And I didn’t want to be on the show the whole time because I just needed to come home, see my mum, do whatever. And I kept getting through. And then I fell in love with the show.”
Kristin’s thoughts: Previously, Darren Hayes mentioned on Twitter that The Masked Singer wasn’t really his thing, but fortunately, he had a change of heart. I loved watching YouTube compilations of him performing as The Grim Reaper on the show. Darren has a truly unique, incredible, and unforgettable voice; I can’t believe that they (the judges) didn’t all guess it was him right away. What amazes me even more is how Nick Lachey managed to win over Darren. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed some of 98 Degrees back in the day, but once you’ve heard one boy band, you’ve pretty much heard them all. They often had similar sounds in the 90s and early 2000s. But Darren? His voice is so sweet, it truly sounds like that of an angel. I will die on that hill that Darren should have won.
After 17 years of marriage, Darren Hayes has ended the relationship with Richard Cullen, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the divorce.
In a since deleted Instagram post, Darren Hayes said:
“After 17 years of marriage to the best person I have ever met, Richard and I have chosen to accept that our union has gently and beautifully come to rest,”
More of what Darren had to say on the divorce:
“In honour of this realization, we separated earlier this year and have been supporting each other emotionally throughout this massive change in our lives.”
“Because people will ask, let me answer the ugly questions to get them out of the way forever – no, there’s no scandal to report, no infidelity, guilty or third party.”
“We are still best friends. We always will be. Besides – we have a very cute and needy labradoodle to take care of – and the business of joy to attend to.”
Darren Hayes and Richard Cullen got married in 2005. Darren mentioned that when he first met Richard on “Gay.com,” Richard was not really familiar with Darren’s career.
These are some things Darren had to say about his now ex, Richard:
“He’s never been a Hollywood person. He’s just a decent human being,”
“He’s been a rock, and he’s been there for the highest of highs and all the lows. He would live with me in a dirt shack.”
Kristin’s thoughts: Those are kind words from a very brave soul. I remember when Darren Hayes came out with his relationship to Richard Cullen and the lovely song he wrote and sang for him, titled “So Beautiful” that was released in 2005. Darren poured his heart out and dropped a big hint about how he was feeling within the relationship back in 2022 with his song “It Feels Like It’s Over.” When I heard the news of his divorce, my heart broke for him, as he has truly been through so much. As always, I genuinely only wish the best for him, and I hope he only has brighter, much happier days ahead.
Peking Duk reached out to Darren Hayes for a shot at reimagining the late Savage Gardens song “I Want You.” They said they wanted to give “one of the most iconic songs in history” a second life.
Here is what Peking Duk had to say on the collab:
“We got in touch with Darren Hayes about completely re-recording it, so it felt fresh,”
“We were amidst a wild writing trip in Santa Monica when Darren hit us back saying he was based in Santa Monica and the next moment we were in the room re-recording the magic,”
“We honestly couldn’t believe our ears or eyes. It was one of the funnest yet surreal three hour studio session of our lives. Darren Hayes is the most iconic Australian of our time. A true honour to be able to have touched this gold.”
The original version of “I Want You” was release back in May of 1996.
Kristin’s thoughts: While I do like the remix, I have to be honest, I prefer the original best. Either way, I am glad to see Darren collaborating with people on songs.
Darren’s Facebook post concerning the Gold Coast Show cancellation:
“As many of you know, since Covid-19 the live concert industry has been incredibly challenged and touring has become a financial and logistical nightmare for many musicians.
Sadly, my upcoming Australian tour has been severely impacted by those challenges and as a result, we’ve had to make the terribly difficult decision to cancel the Gold Coast date on the Australian leg of my ‘Do You Remember?’ tour.
Although my team and I agonized over the best way to try to make the numbers work, it became clear that although my promoter was ambitious in booking me into so many venues and large spaces, we simply hadn’t sold enough tickets overall to break even and that was putting the entire Australian leg of the tour in jeopardy unless we made some changes.
It was suggested to me to cancel several cities, or postpone the Australian tour altogether – but I refused to do that. People are flying in from all over the world to come to this tour and I couldn’t live with myself if I caused that kind of chaos to their lives.
Usually when something like this happens, an artist will put out a polite, vague excuse like ’scheduling conflicts’ or ‘unforeseen circumstances’ but I have too much respect for you to do that. I’ve always been truthful and this is the reality of the music industry in 2022.
It’s a strange time to be touring. Covid seems to have affected touring markets it different ways. In the UK we had to add six more shows. Similarly in the USA, I’m about to add 4 more dates. For whatever reason this is the situation in Australia for many artists and we all have to evolve and adapt to these changing times. If you have purchased a ticket to the Gold Coast show, I’ve been told Ticketek will contact you directly about a refund.
I love you folks – it pains me to have to disappoint anyone, especially those in my home state, but I hope you know we are working night and day to put on the best possible show.
Bringing this music to you, live, after being away so long, is a dream come true and a dream worth fighting for.”
Kristin’s thoughts: It honestly saddens me to see Darren transition from sold-out stadiums during his Savage Garden era to performing at smaller venues like his upcoming concert at the Troubadour in California this year (2026). He truly deserves more recognition, but I understand why people struggle to buy concert tickets as they once did. Although Covid happened a few years back, its impact is still felt. Prices are rising, but unfortunately, many people are not earning enough; they are just barely scraping by.
On October 16, 2022, Darren Hayes shared his thoughts on Twitter after discovering that Sony had put out behind-the-scenes clips and outtakes from George Michael’s “Fastlove” music video.
These are the following quotes of what Darren had to say about the revelation:
“I’m positive George Michael would be mortified by the ‘outtakes’ version of the ‘Fastlove’ video Sony just released. He was so particular about his image and especially how he was photographed. It bothers me how corporations stop respecting artist wishes when they pass.”
“If an artist didn’t release something in their lifetime it’s safe to assume it was intentional, I think it’s a real violation of the artistic process to dig up unfinished or unreleased material without a living artist’s express consent. Anyhoo.”
Kristin’s thoughts: I have to say that I agree with Darren on this one. I believe it is wrong for any record label to publish material without the consent of the artist. However, the unfortunate reality of signing with these companies is that once you sign, they essentially own you, both in life and after death, which is truly a shame.
Darren Hayes’ new album, “Homosexual,” has a dance-pop style, is full of life and color, and showcases 14 bold and brave songs.
Track List:
1. Let’s Try Being In Love
2. Do You Remember?
3. A Little Death
4. Poison Blood
5. Hey Matt
6. Homosexual (Act One)
7. Music Video
8. Euphoric Equation
9. Nocturnal Animal
10. Feels Like It’s Over
11. All You Pretty Things
12. We Are Alchemists
13. Homosexual (Act Two)
14. Birth
Here is what Darren had to say about his inspiration behind the making of his album, “Homosexual”:
“I named my album ‘Homosexual’ for a variety of reasons. The most obvious is that I’m a gay man who grew up in an era when that word was used to shame and vilify people like me, so I wanted to reclaim it. I’m also a recording artist who came up in an era where being openly gay was frowned upon and I experienced firsthand, the attempted erasure of my true identity from the marketing department of a major record label.”
“But perhaps the most important reason I chose this title is that in 2022, I’m living in a time and in a country where the freedoms of LGBTQI+ people are more at risk than they’ve ever been. Moments like the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in Florida, or the constant attacks on trans people, have made it clear to me that now is the time to be as loud as possible about who I am. So on the front cover of my album, I’m proudly lounging upon my version of a stairway to heaven. Emblazoned across me, in the brightest hot pink neon, is a word the 11 year old me used to be terrified of. I lounge proudly underneath the electric buzz of this symbol, this term that used to be used to denigrate people like me. Now it’s my word. Now it means whatever I want it to mean. If you haven’t worked it out yet, I think it means something magical, amazing, unique and essential. My name is Darren Hayes. And I’m a proud Homosexual.”
Kristin’s thoughts: Some of my top picks from the album are “It Feels Like It’s Over,” “Poison Blood,” “We Are Alchemists,” and “All You Pretty Things.” It’s unbelievable how long ago his previous album “Secret Codes and Battleships” came out. I can’t believe it’s been ten years. I’m really happy that Darren (the King) is back! *cue the music from the Lion King*
In the article below, Darren Hayes talks about how music executives tried to straightwash him and control his image, thus not allowing him to be his true authentic self.
On how Darren felt about watching openly queer acts rise to fame like Lil Nas X and MUNA:
“I felt a sense of grief because I just thought, ‘Wow, I love how proud, how joyful and how fully formed this generation is,’ and that was not even a possibility for me.”
On Darren’s new album, Homosexual:
“I always felt like I never really was able to have as much control as I wanted to. It took me years, but I was determined to make a record in the vein of the way George Michael made Faith.”
Darren on growing up and enduring the abuse from his alcoholic father (Robert Hayes) towards himself and the domestic violence towards his mother (Judy Hayes):
“The first person who called me — I hate saying this word — ‘faggot’ was my dad, he says, recalling nights when he and his siblings would fight Robert with hockey sticks to stop him from coming after Judy.”
“We would have to almost knock him out so that we could get my mother into a car. We were too young to drive, but my sister would drive the car to motels. We were children that learned how to patch up walls, so there would never be a social worker or anyone that could know.”
Darren did not just face bullying and homophobia from his own father, but he also faced it at school which caused him to suppress his sexuality.
“I didn’t know any gay people. I’d never had any sexual experiences. I just thought, ‘I guess this is just what it is.'”
Shortly after collaborating with Daniel Jones while teaching preschool, Darren wed his high school love, Colby Taylor, in 1994. While they were recording their first album for Savage Garden, Darren found himself in a gay district where he entered a theater to watch gay porn. This experience left him feeling both alarmed and aroused, prompting him to quickly exit the theater, burdened by shame and guilt. This incident led him to reach out to an emotional support hotline, where he was advised, “Honey, you’re gay. You need to go home and tell your wife.”
Fortunately, when Darren confided in his wife, she was understanding. Initially, she thought he was simply bisexual, but as time passed, she came to realize that he was truly gay.
“She thought I was expressing to her, ‘Hey, I’m into men,’ but I don’t think she realized I was really saying, ‘No, I’m realizing that my whole life up to this point has been this thing to please other people.'”
Darren and Colby attempted counseling with a religious therapist, but it did not help with his sexuality. In fact, it caused him emotional distress and made him feel suicidal. In the end, Colby urged Darren to embrace his true feelings, leading to their separation in 1998, and their divorce was finalized two years later. Sadly, during this period, Darren was also experiencing issues with Daniel Jones, which ultimately resulted in the breakup of their band ‘Savage Garden.’
Darren on the breakup of the band and his sexuality:
“What’s really lovely is actually the music and the band was my wonderland. That was my escape. Daniel was incredibly accepting of my identity. It was when Savage Garden ended that my mental health really took a dive. The band was the only thing that was keeping me from really dealing with the fact that, ‘Wow. I have to deal with my sexuality.'”
Darren required extensive therapy and was prescribed medication for his mental health. He also had to begin his own journey, launching a solo career that led to his first album, “Spin,” released in 2002. Sadly, Columbia Records prioritized their sales over Darren’s well-being, focusing more on how his sexuality might affect profits.
“They were obsessed with controlling my image in a way they had never been before.”
A big example of the record labels straightwashing happened during the shooting of his music video “Insatiable.” His original vision for the video was different than theirs; they had filmed an alternate version behind his back and put it all on his tab, which cost Darren Hayes personally around a million dollars. Also, for that music video, they thought his naturally curly hair looked too gay. Silly, I know, so they forced him to straighten it for the filming.
Because the label stopped promoting him, Darren had to move to the United Kingdom in 2004, which seemed to be the only country that accepted him at that time.
“I couldn’t work out, at the time, why I went from having six months of, like, ‘We need you in the country to do all the TV shows and live appearances,’ to suddenly, ‘We’re pulling you from all that stuff. ‘Because I had friends at the label, some of whom were queer, I found out a year or two after the fact what the trickle-down opinion was.”
Following the launch of his fourth album, “Secret Codes and Battleships,” Darren chose to pause his music career. He relocated to Los Angeles, California, with his husband and enrolled in the Groundlings Theater School for a while. During this time, he met his current friend, Johnny Menke, and his wife, Katie Menke, who was expecting a daughter. This daughter, named “Lilah,” would later become Darren’s goddaughter.
Darren had this to say about getting to babysit Lilah for the Menkes during that time:
“I got life, and that managed to pour itself back into my music and gave me that space to look back on my own childhood. I’m so proud of the fact that there’s never been a moment where she’s ever felt anything but loved in my care, and I’m so glad I got to prove that to myself.”
Fortunately after quite the hiatus, Darren would go on to release a new album named “Homosexual” after being moved by a film about a gay romance called “Call Me By Your Name.” The film affected Darren deeply, causing him to leave the theater in tears, which inspired him to create the song “Let’s Try Being In Love.” This album includes elements of Darren’s life and what is important to him, such as themes of his sexuality, his battle with suicidal thoughts, and his tribute to the queer community and those who lost their lives in the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.
Kristin’s thoughts: Kudos to Darren for now being brave enough to tell his story and be true to himself. Similar to him, I have faced homophobic comments because of my bisexuality, so I understand how damaging such words can be to one’s self-esteem. I hate that he has gone through such ill treatment.
