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Colton Haynes comes out

Colton Haynes comes out

Former “Teen Wolf” star Colton Haynes says “terminal anxiety” is what prompted him to take a break from television.

The 27-year-old tells Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Thursday that he asked to step away from MTV’s “Teen Wolf” and the CW’s “Arrow,” on which he had a recurring role, because he cared more about his “mental and physical health” than his career.

Haynes tells the magazine his anxiety was compounded in January when a reply to a blog comment was taken as him coming out.

He says he’s gay, but had never publicly spoken about his sexuality.

He says he checked into rehab for anxiety, and was frequently in the hospital over the next three months.

Haynes says he’s happy and healthy now and open to a return to his “Arrow” role.

Addressing the hubbub over Haynes’ sexual orientation earlier this year, EW writes:

“It was a complete shock. I wasn’t ready to be back in the headlines,” Haynes, who is in fact gay but has never publicly addressed his sexuality (and, like many others on his path, took advice early in his career to subdue it). “I should have made a comment or a statement, but I just wasn’t ready. I didn’t feel like I owed anyone anything. I think in due time, everyone has to make those decisions when they’re ready, and I wasn’t yet. But I felt like I was letting people down by not coming forward with the rest of what I should have said.”

“People want you to be that GQ image that you put out, but people don’t realize what it’s like to act 24 hours a day. I’d go home and I was still acting,” he added to EW. “People who are so judgmental about those who are gay or different don’t realize that acting 24 hours a day is the most exhausting thing in the world.”

The magazine also notes that Haynes took a brief break from his career due to concerns over his health:

“I asked to step away because I cared more about my mental and physical health than my career at the time,” the actor tells EW, opening up about his personal and professional life for the first time in quite some time. “I’ve had terminal anxiety my entire life. Physically ill, fainting. I’m 27 years old, and I have an ulcer. I had to step back.”

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