It's official: Jonathan Bailey is the Sexiest Man Alive, according to People. The Bridgerton and Wicked actor was revealed as the recipient of this year's title in a beyond sexy photoshoot, making him the first openly gay man to receive the title in the magazine's history.
As to how he feels about the title? “It’s a huge honor. Obviously I’m incredibly flattered. And it’s completely absurd. [Laughs] It’s been a secret, so I’m quite excited for some friends and family to find out,” he told the publication. From where we're standing it is not absurd. At all.
Jonathan also opened up about his dream date, which he says often involves Lego. “I love a walk, I do love dinner, theater, films. It depends what number date,” he said. "You know, if it’s like date 100, then like Legos, although we Brits say it singular ‘Lego,’ and pizza. Some of my best dates have been Lego dates.”
So who exactly is he going on these Lego dates with? Here's Jonathan Bailey's full relationship history and who he is currently dating 👀.
Mystery Man, 2023 to now
So, Jonathan tends to keep his relationships out of the limelight, but he revealed in December 2023 that he is dating a “lovely man.”
“It’s not secret, but it’s private,” he told the Evening Standard. “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.”
We're not sure who the mystery man is, but as Jonny said, we're sure he's lovely!
James Ellis, 2019 to 2022
Previously, Jonathan was said to be dating actor James Ellis. They attended the the Olivier Awards together in 2019, and when Jonathan won an award for his role in Company, he kissed James before heading to the stage.
Neither commented on the romance publicly, so we're not completely sure when it started or ended, but a public kiss is definitely confirmation that these two were a thing!
Other than that, we don't know much about his relationship history, but he did previously open up to GQ about homophobia in Hollywood. He recalled another actor being told, “[There are] two things we don't want to know: if you're an alcoholic or if you're gay.”
He continued, “All it takes is for one of those people in that position of power to say that, and it ripples through. 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."
Good for him!
