'I knew I wasn't willing to live behind the curtain any longer'

Double Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes talks about coming out as gay at 52, navigating loss and grief, and her new career as a motivational speaker

- ALISON GRAVES

Dame Kelly Holmes is a breath of fresh air. Open and honest, she has a warm smile, a twinkle in her eye and a cheeky shoulder tattoo on display. The Olympian is enjoying a second career as a motivational speaker and author – her searingly honest memoir Unique is out on 9 November. Yet her successes have been hard won. 

From navigating the grief and bereavement of losing her “dear mum”, which had a devastating effect on her, to her struggle to come out as a gay woman, she is in a reflective mood when OK! caught up with her ahead of her book launch.

“It’s so important to tell my story,” she says. “So many people knew me as an international athlete, but quite possibly more people know the real me now.”

Kelly came out as gay last year at the age of 52, in a move that raised questions about how many older women are afraid to speak out about their sexuality. She admits that in her younger days, “sex education was blowing condoms up at the back of the class” and finding the same sex attractive was something that wasn’t talked about.

Today, though, she is in a loving relationship, more content than ever and ready to tackle life as her authentic self at last.

Congratulations on Unique. Can you tell us about writing it?

It’s a process, and I never imagined I’d be doing it again after my autobiography years ago and then my documentary last year. This time, it has extra details in since things have changed for me.

It’s jam-packed with honesty and a realness that fans will relate to…