‘The Traitors’ star who was national track champ hard-launches boyfriend as he talks about coming out
Freddie Fraser, who was a highly-rated track athlete with Olympic ambitions before finding fame on 'The Traitors' TV show, has explained why he was reluctant to come out publicly as bi.
Mark
Reality TV star and former athlete Freddie Fraser has followed up on his boyfriend reveal by speaking publicly for the first time about being bisexual.
The 22-year-old found fame as a contestant on “The Traitors” in his native U.K., appearing on the third series of the hit BBC show last year.
Long before stepping into the TV spotlight, however, Fraser was one of Britain’s brightest young track stars. Ranked first nationally for the indoor 60-meters hurdles, he harbored dreams of competing at the Olympic Games until a devastating injury ultimately brought his sporting dreams to an end.
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Fraser previously had a girlfriend but recently “hard launched” his relationship with model Bailey Ramsden after publishing photos of them together on social media.
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Speaking on the “Not My Bagg” podcast, Fraser has now opened up about his coming out journey.
“I realized I was bisexual maybe about six, seven months ago, so it’s kind of a new thing,” he said. “I think when you’re out of the school structure as well… it feels easier to do because it’s not like I’m in school and there are more opinions, and stuff like that.”
Raised by a single mom and with a passion for fashion and pop music, Fraser recalled that growing up, he encountered people who assumed he was gay, which often resulted in homophobic comments.
As he moved into adulthood, those early experiences created a sense of reluctance when it came to coming out publicly.
“Now with me having a boyfriend, to begin with, I was almost like ‘I don’t want to do it,’ because then I’m proving them right,” he said.
His current relationship began after Fraser liked some of Ramsden’s Instagram photos. He received a DM from the model. “He sent me quite a confident message, and I was like, ‘we’ll start chatting a little bit.’ And then we started going on dates, and I was like, ‘oh, it’s quite sweet.’”
@notmybagg No cos why does a hard launch feel so permanent
♬ original sound – Not My Bagg
Freddie Fraser was aiming to become an Olympic hurdler
Fraser had looked set for a glittering track career. In 2018, when he was aged 14, he was crowned English Schools champion and went on to take more age-group titles, establishing himself as the UK’s No. 1 in boys’ sprint hurdles.
He spoke about his athlete journey on an episode of the BBC “Couch to 5k” podcast last year, saying: “I used to have this vision board on my fridge saying ‘Olympics 2020’.”
But on his 16th birthday, he suffered a severe hamstring tear while preparing to compete in a 60-meter hurdles race at the London U17 Games.
“I was doing the short sprint to work on my speed,” he told the BBC. “I went up the hill, and then my leg just went, and I was like, ‘oh God, what is that?!’
“Then I had nationals in three weeks. I was like, OK, it’s fine. We’ll just rest it. I did one training session before nationals, went over the hurdle, and then just popped it again.”
He spent a year trying to recover. “But my hamstring would just give up every single time. I was really depressed for a good few months because this had been my life for six years. I always knew that I wanted to be a professional hurdler.”
Fraser added: “I had had that rhythm and structure, but then I got to that age where it was parties, girls… It just never happened again.”
He was studying politics at university when he applied to go on “The Traitors” and made it through to the final six contestants out of 25 before being banished from the castle in the penultimate episode.
However, he now has around 250,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok, built in the 18 months since the show aired on British TV. The global popularity of “The Traitors” franchise also means his season has been watched around the world.
His “shower scene” became a viral meme and was later emulated by Olympic gold-medal winner Tom Daley in the BBC’s “The Celebrity Traitors” season later in 2025.
AFL trailblazer Mitch Brown shares advice in Bi Visibility Month
Fraser’s story is particularly timely during September, which is Bisexuality Visibility Month. Recently, former pro athlete Mitch Brown — the first man to have played in the AFL in Australia and later come out — has been marking the anniversary of the day he told the world he is bi.
His analysis of masculine tropes which often turn toxic is essential reading.
In an Instagram post, Brown wrote: “Being attracted to men doesn’t make me less of a man. But coming out revealed how narrowly I had been taught to define one.
“Real strength isn’t pretending nothing can hurt you. It’s being honest about who you are, even when the world wants you to keep hiding.”
For both current and former athletes in men’s sports, the nature of being competitive is so ingrained in the psyche that it feels wrong to ‘give up’ anything which someone could feasibly take advantage of.
But as both Fraser and Brown are explaining, the damage caused by denying your sexuality to yourself because of what others might think is far worse.
Whether it’s accepting that you are gay, bi, queer, or any orientation other than heterosexual, living authentically brings immense relief.
@notmybagg Liking musicals doesn’t make you gay
♬ original sound – Not My Bagg
Asked on the “Not My Bagg” podcast if he has advice for his younger self, Fraser said: “I think he’d be so proud of me.
“When I look back to being younger and having people call you gay and stuff like that, I’ve always been like ‘I don’t give a sh*t’ — I’m quite a confident person. I will do what’s best for me and put myself first, and all that.
“But I think when you’re that young and vulnerable… in those ‘macho men’ groups, and there’s all the types of bullying, I’d just say, ‘it’s going to be alright, little Freddie. It’s going to be OK, and you’ll find your way.’
“I’ve had a lot of messages, like ‘you’ve really inspired me, to help me come out’ and stuff like that. I didn’t even think any of this. It’s quite good for representation, and if that helps one person find themselves or figure out their sexuality a bit or feel more confident to come out, then yeah, I’ve done a good job. I’ll take it.”
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