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Andrew Gillum comes out as bisexual months after he was found passed out in a hotel room with a gay male escort and meth
Former Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum addresses the audience during an event on March 20, 2019, in Miami Gardens, Florida. Gillum plans to launch a major campaign to register 1 million Florida voters before the 2020 election. (Photo by Saul Martinez/Getty Images)

Andrew Gillum comes out as bisexual months after he was found passed out in a hotel room with a gay male escort and meth

'That is something I've never shared publicly before'

Former Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum came out as bisexual during his first national media appearance since being found by police intoxicated and passed out in a room with a reported gay male escort and crystal meth.

Gillum and his wife, R. Jai Gillum, sat down with Tamron Hall for an interview to discuss that incident and the impact it had on his career and their marriage. The Gillums have three children. During the interview, Andrew Gillum disclosed his sexuality for the first time.

"To be very honest with you, when you didn't ask the question, you put it out there is whether or not I identify as gay," Gillum said. "And the answer is I don't identify as gay, but I do identify as bisexual, and that is something that I have never shared publicly before."

Gillum did not specify his intent for going to that hotel room in Miami Beach in March. After the incident became public, Gillum said he had been in town for a wedding and ended up having too much to drink. Politico reported that friends said Gillum was supposed to officiate the wedding, but didn't show up. Travis Dyson, the escort, said he he was unaware of any wedding.

Gillum withdrew from public life and entered rehab after the situation.

"I understand very well what people assume about that," Gillum said during the interview.

GIllum rejected the idea that his sexuality was a cause of his unfaithfulness.

"Bisexuality in and of itself doesn't lead to unfaithfulness," Gillum said. "There are men who are in marriages with women who just because they're married to a woman doesn't mean they're not attracted to other women, and at any point can slip up, make a mistake, do something, and that is what it is. The same thing in bisexual relationships.You can be attracted to both, you got a bigger terrain out there that you have to contend with, but you can still choose to be physically with one person."

R. Jai Gillum told Hall that she knew Gillum was bisexual when they got married.

"So many people just don't understand bisexuality," she said. "Bisexuality is just something different. I just believe that love and sexuality exist on a spectrum. All I care about is what's between us and what agreement we make."

Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, narrowly lost the governor's race to Republican Ron DeSantis in 2018.

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