Netflix’s ‘Adolescence’ star Erin Doherty opens up about accepting she’s gay after “mind-blowing” relationship

Erin Doherty, one of the prominent stars in Netflix’s riveting new crime drama ‘Adolescence,’ has shared her journey to realising and accepting her sexuality as a gay woman.

In a discussion on the ‘How to Fail with Elizabeth Day’ podcast, the 32-year-old British actress disclosed that she only came to fully understand and embrace her identity as a gay woman during a “mind-blowing” relationship with another woman in her mid-twenties, according to ‘MSN’.

Doherty is reportedly dating actress Sophie Melville, whom she met in 2017 while they were both performing in Alan Ayckbourn’s play ‘The Divide.’ She mentioned to Day, “It took me a really, really long time to finally get to the point where I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gay,’ but I think, again, because I grew up doing the social thing of going, ‘Oh, OK, well, I’ll have a boyfriend and I’ll do this thing’ and I never questioned it.”

She continued, “Knowing who I was in my heart of hearts, in my soul, it took me a really long time. No one in my life had shown me that that was an option, so I just never applied it to myself so it took a while to really go, ‘Oh, this is something that I can have,’ which also leans into the whole people pleaser thing. I never really was ready to carve out that path for myself, even though looking back, I always knew that my relationships with men weren’t satisfying in that whole-hearted way that I wanted them to be.”

Although it “took a while,” Doherty expressed that she’s “there” now, bolstered by her first relationship with a woman at the age of 25. She described it as “mind blowing and it felt like I had come home… I was just like, ‘Wow, this is a part of who I am that I’d never got to meet’ which was just so crazy.”

She reflected, “I wouldn’t change it because it’s really made me adore that part and really cherish it and I just hope that I get to offer that to other women or men, whoever you are just lean into your truth because there was something so monumental about that moment of going, ‘Whoa, this is me’ and just embracing it and not applying anything else to it. I just think we all deserve that.” Previously, she has expressed that being a “visible” gay woman is “really important” to her.

While many recognise Erin Doherty for her portrayal of the sharp-witted Princess Anne in ‘The Crown,’ she is quickly becoming known for her role in ‘Adolescence’ on Netflix, which has been met with widespread praise.

‘The Guardian’ deemed it “the closest thing to TV perfection in decades,” and "Variety" described it as an “emotionally devastating” and “gut-wrenching” series.

The four-part crime drama centres on 13-year-old Jamie (played by Owen Cooper), who stands accused of killing a classmate. Stephen Graham, the co-creator of ‘Adolescence’ and actor from ‘Boiling Point,’ portrays Jamie’s father, Eddie. Ashley Walters, known for ‘Top Boy,’ plays Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe, who is investigating the case, while Doherty takes on the role of Briony Ariston, a clinical psychologist working with Jamie.

‘Adolescence’ also features the queer ‘Game of Thrones’ actress and ‘Get Hooked’ star, Faye Marsay.

This chilling series is uniquely filmed in a continuous shot, reminiscent of Graham’s BAFTA-nominated movie ‘Boiling Point.’ It is co-created by ‘Joy’ creators Graham and Jack Thorne and directed by Philip Barantini, who also directed ‘Boiling Point.’

Additionally, Erin Doherty is set to appear alongside Stephen Graham in Disney’s upcoming historical drama, ‘A Thousand Blows.’

‘Adolescence’ is currently available for streaming on Netflix.