Elliot Page has opened up about the secret relationship he had with fellow actor Kate Mara “right after” coming out as gay.
The Umbrella Academy star came out as lesbian in 2014 before announcing he was transgender in 2020.
In his new memoir Pageboy, the Canadian actor revealed that he became romantically involved with Mara while he was filming 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.
“This was right after I’d come out as gay and it was a time of exploration and also heartbreak,” Page told People in a new interview.
In an excerpt shared with the outlet, he wrote that Mara was “the first person I fell for after my heart was broken”. He noted that the House of Cards actor “had a boyfriend at the time, the lovely and talented Max Minghella”.
However, he said Minghella was supportive of them exploring their feelings for one another. “I never thought I could be in love with two people and now I know I can,” Page said Mara told him.
“I think my relationship, or whatever you want to call it with Kate, very much encapsulates a certain dynamic that I consistently found myself in, which was falling for people that – I think a lot of us do this – who aren’t fully available,” Page explained.
“And the sort of safety in that and the highs and the lows and the serotonin bump, and then it goes away.”
He continued: “And I think that is definitely a pattern in my life.
“I think the love and care that we have for each other is its very own special thing,” he said, adding that he’s still close with Mara. “Separate from the intimacy that I write about.”
Elsewhere in the memoir, the 36-year-old Juno star recalled the time he was verbally assaulted by an A-list actor at a party.
Page said an actor who was an “acquaintance” told him: “You aren’t gay. That doesn’t exist. You are just afraid of men.”
He said the acquaintance continued: “I’m going to f*** you to make you realise you aren’t gay.”
Page did not name the actor from the story, however, noted that “he will hear about this and know it’s him”.
Pageboy is out in bookstores on 6 June.
