Name: Matt Terry, 31.

Bio: British singer Matt Terry was born on May 20, 1993. He grew up in the south London suburb of Bromley and attended the D&B Academy of Performing Arts in Kent. While he tried to make inroads in the music industry, he worked as a waiter.

Terry’s big break came in 2016 on the 13th season of The X Factor, a British reality show helmed by Simon Cowell that’s similar to American Idol. At his audition, Terry said he’d recently broken up with his girlfriend of three years and was tending to a broken heart.

Terry went on to wow the judges with his rendition of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”.

Terry, who was 24 at the time, was mentored by Nicole Scherzinger during the competition. When he won, the pair embraced on stage.

Terry’s debut single, a holiday song called “When Christmas Comes Around”, rose to No. 3 on the UK charts. But his subsequent singles failed to make the same impact. After Terry’s debut album stalled in late 2017, he was dropped by Cowell’s label, Syco.

Since then, Terry has continued to perform and release music. He also writes for other artists.

Coming out: In March, Terry released a new song, which doubled as his coming out. The single, “His Car,” is about being in a relationship while closeted.

I used to kiss him in the back of his car, hiding from the world who we are

I’m sorry for every single lie, I told him you should go and bury your heart, My parents won’t ever know about us

I keep wishing that I could go back in time, to apologize.

The music video features Terry and a male love interest.

In an interview with Gay Times, Terry said the song is an apology to the first man he fell in love with.

“I said to him, ‘You’re not allowed to tell anyone about this’ and he loved me enough to do so,” Terry explained. “Six, seven, years later, I realize that’s not something we should be doing, and it’s not something you should ask somebody. It’s such a regret of mine, and I’m just really sorry.”

Terry added, “I’m very proud [of my orientation], and I’m no longer afraid.”

Terry said that he was unprepared for media speculation around his private life after he won The X Factor.

“The team I had–I’ll say it– weren’t the best,” he said. “I don’t think we understood each other very well. I had a manager who… I won’t name names, but bear in mind, I was new. She was like, ‘You need to tell me now: are you or aren’t you gay? I’ve got the whole industry right now asking about you. I’m here defending you, telling them no. If it turns out you are, I’m going to have a massive egg on my face because of you.’ I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. There was no one there to protect or help me.”

At the time, Terry says he was still figuring out his identity.

In a separate interview with ITV News, Terry said he hadn’t felt supported on The X Factor. He was informed his appearance was sometimes deemed “too gay,” and he was sent back to the hair and makeup department for tweaks to be made.

The X Factor producers rebuff Terry’s claim, issuing a statement saying they always took the welfare of contestants seriously.

On coming out now, Terry told ITV, “I don’t want anyone to make the same mistake I did, because there’s no need to. Because there’s room for everybody in this world to love freely.”

He echoed his inspiring sentiment to Gay Times.

“I just love where I’m at and I love the man I’ve become,” Terry said. “Being in love with another man is part of who I am, so if I don’t love me, then I’m not doing it right.”

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