Image Credit: ‘Baywatch,’ The Fremantle Corporation

If you’re headed to the beach this long Labor Day weekend for one last chance to soak up the summer sun, it’ll be almost impossible to go near the water without wanting to mimic a slow-motion run…

And that’s because Baywatch—the soapy TV action-drama about hot & horny lifeguards—is still iconic after all these years.

This week, a new ABC Studios docuseries called After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun dropped on Hulu, which explores how the show became a cultural phenomenon—turning cast members like Pamela Anderson and Jason Momoa into superstars—and delving into all the highs and lows of behind-the-scenes drama.

Of course, Baywatch, which premiered in 1989, was a true product of its time; the original NBC run of the show is almost comically heteronormative. Though, come on, you can’t put a bunch of bronzed, muscled gods and goddesses in tiny red bathing suits on screen and not expect to stir a few gay awakenings!

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But what many didn’t know back then is that one of the series’ hunkiest stars was gay in real life—he just was pretty convincing at playing a girl-crazy surfer bro!

Australian actor Jaasons Simmons joined the cast in 1994 for Season 5, at the height of Baywatch‘s popularity, playing Logan Fowler, an Aussie exchange student who would proceed to chase after just about every woman on the show.

Chiseled muscles, tanned skin, sparkling blue eyes, and sandy blond hair, Simmons’ Logan epitomized the babely beach bro archetype, and viewers certainly didn’t mind watching him slo-mo run across the screen.

Simmons remained in the closet—at least, to the public—during his three-season run on the show, only coming out as gay in 2008 when he announced a relationship with his then fiancé John O’Callaghan and their plans to adopt a child.

But as he would later reveal, it’s not like he was keeping his sexuality a secret from the people in his life. In a 2014 conversation with Too Fab, the actor shared that his Baywatch co-stars were all aware of his truth, and were nothing but supportive:

“Everybody knew, I just didn’t speak about my private life, I’m pretty shy and introverted,” Simmons said. “So to go in a show when you’re like that, it takes a lot of adjusting. I was like, baby steps. I was in a relationship for the whole time and they were all aware and it was fantastic and no issue.”

There was one co-star in particular who helped keep Simmons safe from speculation, and that was Alexandra Paul (Baywatch‘s Stephanie Holden), who was more than happy to be his beard.

At the premiere of After Baywatch this week, Paul confirmed to People she knew Simmons was gay, saying she completely understood why he’d want to remain in the closet at the time:

“Back in the 1990s, 30 years ago, if you were a gay actor in Hollywood, not only would that affect your career negatively, but it could also affect you just out and about in the streets,” Paul said. “You weren’t as safe.”

The two became fast friends on set and were “so affectionate with each other”—as many gays are with their girls—that the public began to speculate over the nature of their relationship, never suspecting that Simmons might be gay.

Jaason Simmons & Alexandra Paul in the ’90s | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The more they were photographed together in the public, the more rumors of their on-set romance swirled, which Simmons said was just a “byproduct” of them being such good friends. “It was like people saw us together and then that started on its own,” he remember. “So, we just went along, because I was only 22, 23 at the time.”

Paul said the just shrugged it off: “We just let them think what they thought.”

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She also added her now-husband Ian Murray—who she was already dating at the time of the Baywatch rumors—was totally understanding of the whole thing, seeing it as a true gesture of friendship.

Thanks to the support and respect of his co-stars, Jaason Simmons was able to come out on his own terms—and that’s a TV-ready happy ending if we’ve ever heard one!

Jaason Simmons (left), Alexandra Paul (center) & their ‘Baywatch co-stars in 2024 | Photo Credit: Getty Images

He’s continued acting in the years since, notably playing “The Teen Idol” in influential filmmaker Gregg Araki’s apocalyptic coming-of-age tale Nowhere and even appearing in the 2013 high-camp masterpiece Sharknado. And, when it was announced earlier this year that Fox was planning a Baywatchreboot, he seemed to hint he was down for Logan Fowler to head back to the beach!

And, yes, for those wondering: Simmons has continued being a total hunk, too:

After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun is now streaming on Hulu. Original seasons of Baywatch are currently available to stream via Amazon Prime Video and Tubi.

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