Jack Woolley came out when he was 15 years old. Yet, when the mixed martial arts master was training for his first Olympics, he was told to keep quiet about his orientation.

Coaches told Woolley he needed to focus on his sport. Talking about other aspects of his life would be an unwelcome distraction.

As a result, Woolley felt constrained heading into the Tokyo Games. Though he was the first taekwondo athlete to compete in the Olympics for Ireland, he felt no joy.

“I was being told, ‘Don’t make that your personality trait. You want to be Jack Woolley the person,'” he said. “I get where they were coming from, but at the same time, it felt like I was being held back from being able to say what I wanted.”

Upon returning home from Tokyo, Woolley was brutally assaulted on the street in Dublin. Laying in a hospital bed, he felt like he was at a low point.

Instead, it was a turning point. Around that time, Woolley started seeing his boyfriend, Dave, and they’ve been together ever since. To prepare for the Paris Olympics, Woolley trained with the Spanish team, whose coaches and advisors encouraged him to be himself.

He arrived in Paris with an amazing new outlook on life.

“It’s time to show the real me,” he said.

In that spirit, Queerty recently caught up with Woolley, who’s relocated to Madrid ahead of LA 2028. We talked about his Paris experience, date night in a McDonald’s parking lot and favorite drag queens. Here’s what he had to say…

QUEERTY: You’re an open book about your life as a gay man, but it wasn’t always that way. What shifted for you?

JACK WOOLLEY: I think just not caring about what people think. There was also a media ban on me put on by my coaches. I was told to not speak about things that would get me bad attention, I needed to focus on my sport. It was pretty negative. My parents and my friends and family have always been very open and supportive of me—I came out at 15 to them. Then I came out publicly on the TV when I was 17. But since then, I was being told, “Don’t make that your personality trait. You want to be Jack Woolley the person.” I get where they were coming from, but at the same time, it felt like I was being held back from being able to say what I wanted.

After Tokyo, I felt like I had a mission to get there, a mission to do well. When I got back and didn’t have the result, I got assaulted. Then I met Dave, and things started to click. “Why do I have to take life so seriously? Why do I need people telling me I should care about what people think?” I’ve never had that fear in my head. But I was being told by people I respect that I should care about that. So that held me back. Then when I met Dave, I started to realize that life is short and I need to enjoy it. The only way to do that is be myself. 

I don’t consider myself a celebrity, but my following is there. Why not use it in a positive way? I don’t have any association anymore with the people telling me not to do that. In fact, my new team had a meeting where they brought in our social media manager, and he was like, “You really need to get your name out there. Be an athlete, but also be a person. You need to be relatable. It’s not just sports, sports, sports.” That suits my personality a lot better. It’s time to show the real me.

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You and Dave are such a cute couple! How did you guys meet?

He slid into my DMs just before Tokyo. I didn’t take any notice of him. I kind of ignored him, but he was just being nice. I was replying, and then one day I was like, “He’s really nice. I’ll follow him back!” But I didn’t know he was gay. Then I got back from Tokyo, and was like “I can’t play the field, I’m not allowed to date;” because again, I had certain people telling me it would distract from my sport and all this sh*t, when in fact it’s the opposite.

But I asked him for a coffee, and he ghosted me for two days. Then he came back and was like, “Oh sorry, I was in work.” And I was thinking, “Work for two days?!” But I think he was just taken aback, because he wasn’t out. But we ended up going to a McDonald’s drive through, and sitting in his car. It was a bit strange… but the rest is history!

McDonald’s drive through, huh? That sounds very romantic!

Well, I asked him for a coffee, and two days later he goes “I don’t like coffee.” I was like, “Oh, he’s obviously a straight man and I’m not in a headspace for one of those right now.” But then he replied a few hours later and was like, “But I do like ice cream. I’ll pick you up today.” So we ended up eating a McFlurry in the parking lot!

What’s your dream date night, outside of a McFlurry in the parking lot?

A decent steak dinner. He’s vey, very picky. There has to be no red, well done, burnt. It’s really bad! But a nice walk–we like going out and going for a walk around the lakes. In Dublin, there’s a lot of mountains and nice scenery. We like traveling around. A nice walk, a steak dinner. I actually brought him to see Wicked recently. He had never seen a proper Broadway show before. Or a concert! We try to do things like that.

What’s your favorite kind of music?

Miley Cyrus! Just because she’s so different. You’ve got the pop songs, and the rock songs. Her voice is unreal. I love when somebody has a voice, and you distinctively know who it is right away. Like Phil Collins, I think he has one of the most distinct voices. You can tell who it is straightaway. That’s my favorite kind of music. Either that, or ‘90s techno trance music. You’ve got polar opposites there!

You’ve been fighting since you were six years old! Why do you think you’re not afraid to get kicked in the head?

I was brought up that way. I’ve always been very confident. I was very energetic, I would be out doing everything, and I would come back with my legs covered in cuts and bruises from fighting on the street. I don’t think I had much fear, and I carried that into my adult fears.

What was the highlight of your Olympic experience in Paris?

Correcting the wrongs from Tokyo. I had a lot of regrets, not enjoying it. I’ve seen pictures of myself after Tokyo. It looked like I was just going through the motions. I hate the fact that people think that athletes are kind of like robots. We train, we eat and then we have to go out and perform for other people. I walked into Tokyo with a blank face going in to fight, because I felt like that’s what I had to do, showing people I was this invincible person. But in Paris, blocking everything out in the ring and waving and smiling to the crowd and hearing the cheers is something you’ll never be able to replicate again. There will never be another stadium like the Paris Olympics. In comparison to Tokyo, it made Paris feel extra special. Just enjoying it. That was the best part of Paris to me.

We know you have an Olympics ring tattoo. But it looks like you’ve gotten another one?

I have a scorpion, but I’m not a scorpio. I’m a libra! Everybody asks me my horoscope when they see the tattoo, and I have to explain it’s from my signature kick in my sport. It has nothing to do with my horoscope. 

You also recently met [Drag Race queen] Sasha Colby! Who’s your favorite queen?

She’s top three! I like Trinity… if you put drag queens in an all-winner season again, I don’t think anybody would beat Sasha Colby. She’s so lovely and so talented. As soon as she met me, they were like. “Oh, this is Jack Woolley, our only gay Olympian in taekwondo.” And as soon as they said “taekwondo,” she asked straight away, “Do you know Anetra?”I was like, “Yeah, yeah, she follows me online as well, and we talk a little bit about taekwondo, have a little bit of interaction.” She was like, “Oh, we’re going on tour together, and it would be great for her to meet you.” So we’ll see, maybe there will be a little collaboration. I can put her back in taekwondo gear, and she can put me in drag!

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