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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
'I could fall for a woman', says Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland's former first minister explains why she doesn't see her sexuality as 'binary'
Nicola Sturgeon has said she could fall for a man or a woman as she explained why she doesn't see her sexuality as 'binary'. The former Scottish first minister said she was 'not sticking any labels' on her sexual orientation as she was quizzed about a passage in her newly-published memoir. In the book, titled Frankly, Ms Sturgeon addressed 'wild stories' about her having a 'torrid lesbian affair' with a French diplomat. The ex-SNP leader hit out at 'blatant homophobia at the heart of the 'story'', but added 'the nature of the insult itself was water off a duck's back'. She wrote that, despite long-term relationships with men having accounted for more than 30 years of her life, she 'never considered' her sexuality to be 'binary'. In January, Ms Sturgeon announced she had separated from her husband, the former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, after nearly 14-and-a-half years of marriage. Addressing the comments about sexuality in her book during an interview with Times Radio, Ms Sturgeon was asked if this meant she could fall for a woman or a man. 'I believe that, yes,' the 55-year-old replied. That's how I see life and the world.' Ms Sturgeon added: 'I'm not making any great revelation, I'm not sticking any labels on it. I guess what I'm saying is that's how I see the world. 'And it would have been dishonest to say it's how I see the world in relation to other people, but not in relation to myself. I don't think sexuality is binary.' During her string of TV and radio interviews to mark the publication of her memoir, Ms Sturgeon had previously refused to speculate about her future love life. Asked by ITV News if she might possibly enter into a relationship with a woman, she replied: 'Look, I'm just out of a marriage. 'So I'm not rushing into a relationship with anyone, anytime soon. I'm enjoying being my own person for a while.' Pressed on whether she would rule it out, Ms Sturgeon added: 'I'm not contemplating, you know, sort of anything of that nature. I'm just enjoying life. 'That's part of the answer to that question. The other part of the answer is, in future, I possibly want to choose to have any relationships I happen to be in as private matters.' Ms Sturgeon was arrested in June 2023 and questioned by police as part of the investigation into SNP finances, but has now been formally cleared. Mr Murrell has appeared in court charged with alleged embezzlement. Ms Sturgeon is preparing to step down as an MSP at next May's Holyrood elections, bringing to an end a 27-year spell in the Scottish Parliament.
Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Nicola Sturgeon admits she ‘could fall for a man or a woman'
Nicola Sturgeon has addressed questions about her sexuality by confirming that she could fall for a woman. The former first minister was pressed about her sexual orientation on Times Radio on Wednesday, having revealed in her autobiography, Frankly, that she had 'never considered sexuality, my own included, to be binary'. Asked by presenter Jane Garvey if that meant she could fall for a man or a woman, Sturgeon replied: 'I believe that, yes.' The clarification comes days after the former first minister refused to speculate on the possibility of a future relationship with a woman during an interview with ITV's Julie Etchingham. Sturgeon insisted that she was 'just enjoying life' and was 'not contemplating, sort of anything of that nature', having separated from her husband Peter Murrell in January. Nicola Sturgeon separated from her husband Peter Murrell in January ALAMY The explicit acknowledgement is a marked shift for Sturgeon, who has evaded 'wild' questions about her sexuality throughout her political career. • Ten things we learnt from Nicola Sturgeon's memoir In 2019 Sturgeon was dogged by rumours of a 'torrid lesbian affair' with the French ambassador Catherine Colonna, which she chose not to fuel despite knowing them to be 'a blatant lie'. In her autobiography, Sturgeon reiterated that 'sexual relationships should be private matters'. Nicola Sturgeon and Catherine Colonna SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT/FLICKR Reflecting on her changing stance, Sturgeon explained: 'I'm not making any great revelation, I'm not sticking any labels on it. I guess what I'm saying is that's how I see the world, and it would have been dishonest to say that's how I see the world in relation to other people and not in relation to myself: I don't think sexuality is binary.' During her appearance on Times Radio, Sturgeon also clarified her shifting views on her mentor Alex Salmond. She admitted that her formerly close ally, who was accused of bullying colleagues while leading the Scottish government, could be 'really rough on people'. Alex Salmond with Nicola Sturgeon in 2012 IAN MACNICOL/GETTY IMAGES Sturgeon even revealed that she had been forced to intervene during Salmond's public reprimands, comparing his outbursts to those of Scottish football manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The former first minister said: 'I don't want to make comparisons between the two individuals, but you know when people talk about 'hairdryer treatment' when they're talking about somebody I think highly of, Sir Alex Ferguson.' She continued: 'Just dressing people down overly harshly in public to the point of trying to humiliate them, really fixing people with kind of like death stares.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nicola Sturgeon on not defining her sexuality
Nicola Sturgeon tells ITV News she does not see sexuality as binary but says she is not making any revelations or putting labels on herself, and is focused on enjoying life after her marriage ended. .
The Sun
08-08-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Nicola Sturgeon reveals her sexuality ‘isn't binary' in bombshell new book
NICOLA Sturgeon opened up on her sexuality for the first time and reveals she doesn't consider it to be binary. The ex-First Minister addressed the subject of her private life in the new memoir Frankly - set to be released next week. 3 3 An extract from her upcoming book has been released this evening. In it, the former SNP leader addresses head-on speculation surrounding her sexuality and a previous rumour that she had a secret relationship with a French diplomat. Ms Sturgeon says that her sexual orientation is not binary. As reported by The Times, she writes: "For many of those peddling it, 'lesbian' and 'gay' are meant as insults. However, while the fact I was being lied about got under my skin, the nature of the insult itself was water off a duck's back. "Long-term relationships with men have accounted for more than thirty years of my life, but I have never considered sexuality, my own included, to be binary. Moreover, sexual relationships should be private matters." Ms Sturgeon revealed that in early 2020, there was "an issue gnawing in the background", relating to her sexuality. She writes: "I was starting to get under my skin. For some time, social media had been awash with 'rumours' that I was having a secret relationship with a woman. "There were slightly different versions of the story, but the consistent theme seemed to be that I was having a torrid lesbian affair with the woman who was at that time the French ambassador to the UK, and who would later become the French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna. "In one of the variants of the story, there had been a violent encounter between us, involving an iron, in Edinburgh's Balmoral Hotel. We had also supposedly set up a love nest, in a house in Bridge of Allan, that I had bought from Andy Murray's mum, Judy. "Normally, I wouldn't have known nor cared about wild stories from the darker recesses of social media, and, if this one had stayed there, it would have been easy to ignore. But by late 2019 it was being openly talked about. "My family and friends were being asked about it by people who'd heard it in their local pub. Colleagues were being asked about it on doorsteps. "One of our neighbours in Glasgow mentioned it, obliquely, to Peter, presumably thinking he had a right to know that his wife was having an affair. "It reached a head in February 2020, when the social media site Guido Fawkes tweeted to the effect that a salacious story about my private life was only still secret because I had a superinjunction in place to stop it being reported. "I was furious. It was a blatant lie. "Not only was there no superinjunction in place, but such a legal remedy isn't even available in Scots law. "Shortly after, the all-consuming focus on Covid put a stop to the rumour, but only for a while. It would resurface a few months later. "I had little option but to shrug it off, however irritating it might have been. "Catherine, the French ambassador, helped. She was aware of the rumours too and, the first time I saw her after lockdown, at a meeting of EU ambassadors in the Scottish government's London office, we laughed about it. "We were photographed together a couple of times after that, at COP27 in Egypt, for example, and the online frenzy which ensued suggested that we had successfully trolled the trolls. "Although the French ambassador and I could laugh about it, a saga like this does throw up serious issues. How do fake stories like this take root in social media? "Did some Russian bot factory concoct a made-up story? Who knows? Then, of course, there is the blatant homophobia at the heart of the 'story'." Salacious rumours have circulated for the past decade about Ms Sturgeon's private life and sexuality. NICOLA & PETER: TIMELINE 1988: Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell first meet at an SNP youth event. 2003: Then-Glasgow list MSP Ms Sturgeon and SNP chief executive Mr Murrell begin their relationship. July 16, 2010: The couple tie the knot with a ceremony at the Oran Mor in Glasgow's west end. April 2, 2023: Ms Sturgeon claims online rumours and the need to seek more privacy was 'part of the reason' for her resignation as First Minister. April 5, 2023: The home of the couple, near Glasgow, is searched by police, with a separate raid on the SNP's Edinburgh HQ, as part of their investigation into the party's finances. Peter Murrell is arrested and quizzed by cops for 12 hours before being released without charge. April 8, 2023: A £110,000 luxury motorhome is seized by cops from outside the home of Mr Murrell's mother. April 28, 2023: Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell are spotted for the first time since the raid on their Uddingston home. She dismisses rumours around her sexuality, including one that she had an affair with a female French diplomat. June 11, 2023: Police Scotland officers arrest Ms Sturgeon and take her for questioning as part of their probe into SNP finances. She is released without charge and insists that she is innocent of any wrongdoing. August 10, 2023: At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Ms Sturgeon rubbishes claims her marriage is in trouble, telling an audience: 'My marriage is not something anyone should worry about'. October 1, 2023: During a podcast, Ms Sturgeon insists her marriage is not on the rocks. She says: 'We are still married and will be married for a long time to come'. April 18, 2024: Mr Murrell is re-arrested by cops and is charged with embezzlement in connection with the investigation into SNP finances. April 26, 2024: Ms Sturgeon spotted at the annual Diva Awards with pal Val McDermid in London without her wedding ring. December 2024: Ms Sturgeon says she is in the dark about the ongoing police investigation, adding: "I am just getting on with my life as best I can at the moment." January 11, 2025: During an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Sturgeon says politics was 'all-consuming for a long, long time', having been married to Mr Murrell for over a decade. January 13, 2025: In a social media post, Nicola Sturgeon announces the end of her marriage to Peter Murrell and says they have been separated for 'some time' Around 2016, word began to spread on social media and in powerful circles that she had moved into a house with a female lover, but these were repeatedly dismissed by aides as baseless conspiracy theories, and there was no evidence to support them. In an interview in 2020 with the Sunday Times, Ms Sturgeon was asked about a 'caravan of rumours' about her private life and said: 'This sort of exotic double life that I'm supposedly leading is a damn sight more interesting than the actual life I'm leading. 'It does not have a scintilla of truth or basis in reality. It is just so completely off the wall.' Ms Sturgeon ultimately denied she was having an affair with a female French diplomat - one of the best-known claims - in an interview with the BBC in April 2023 after she stood down as First Minister. At the time, BBC Scotland's political editor, Glenn Campbell, put it to Ms Sturgeon that people were speculating about her marriage and sexuality on social media. She replied: "I read accounts of my life on social media and I think, 'you know, it is so much more glamorous sounding and so much more exciting'. You know I've got houses everywhere if you believe social media." The Beeb man then asked her: "Which French diplomat are you having an affair with?" Ms Sturgeon laughed and said: "I'll tell you off camera which one it is supposed to be but whichever one it is we've actually had a laugh about it."
