Is Rick Astley Gay? He Is Married to a Woman & Supports LGBTQ Community

After he was referred to as a "gay guy" on "Family Guy," the question of Rick Astley's sexuality followed the famous singer for years. Although he has never addressed the rumors directly, Rick Astley revealed that he was engaged to his wife for fifteen years and credited his success to her.

During an episode of "Family Guy," one of the famous show's characters introduced the 2007 hit "Never Gonna Give You Up" as a song sung by "a gay guy." The scene led to much confusion among the singer's fans, who took to social media platforms such as Twitter and Reddit to share their opinions.

Although Astley is not gay and has been happily married to his wife, Lene Bausager, he has taken to social media to show his support for the LGBTQ+ community.

Rick Astley Is Actually with the Same Woman for More than 30 Years

The '80s superstar met his Danish film producer wife over thirty years ago, and the couple has enjoyed a very discreet relationship and welcomed a daughter. In 2016, Astley revealed that he and his wife had finally made it down the aisle and said:

"I have been with the same woman for 27 years, but we only got married recently. It was very, very casual. We had been engaged for 15 years, but we were both very busy. We just didn't find a date in the diary."

Their daughter, who studied at the Royal College of Art in Copenhagen, visited her parents' home in South London. While the family was in the living room, her father recalled her asking, "Are you going to get married or what?"

Astley and Bausager were not opposed to the idea. With their daughter only in town for a week, the family of three went down to the register office and officially tied the knot without telling anybody else.

Bausager met Astley at the peak of his career; years later, she went from his wife to his manager. The English singer and songwriter also revealed that his wife sometimes had more faith in him than he did. He shared:

"She produces movies, and she can see a path from a script to actually getting a movie on a screen— and she's done that with the music. The success I'm having is due to her; there's no doubt about that. She's a massive part of the whole thing."

A Fan Was "Shocked" after Finding Out That Rick Astley Is Not Gay

Following Astley's revelation that he was, in fact, not gay, fans took to Twitter to share their surprise. One user said, "Terry just convinced me that Rick Astley is gay, and I was so surprised that I googled it, and he isn't gay."

"It's like weird to me that Rick Astley isn't gay," shared another. One person wrote, "Wait, so that meme of Rick Astley being gay was a meme," and another said, "Why did I think Rick Astley was gay? Did I dream that."

A fifth fan added, "I have lived my entire life assuming Rick Astley was gay and have never been more shocked to find out he's not."

Rick Astley Has Been Vocal about His Support for Gay Rights

In 2021, Astley joined a list of celebrities, including Miley Cyrus, Elliot Page, Jonathan Bailey, Ruby Rose, and Harry Styles, when he took to social media to voice his support for the LGBTQ+ community. In one Instagram post, he said:

"I am proud to support the LGBTQ+ community and all underrepresented communities. We must all make a real commitment to be active allies to all those for whom equality and safety is not yet guaranteed."

Astley also used Twitter as a platform for his activism, and in a post, he wrote, "Pride is something to celebrate. However you identify, there should be a joy in being who you are and knowing you are accepted in that. For all my friends celebrating pride, I love you all."

Touched, a fan responded, "As a closeted queer kid in the 80's who loved your music (and still does!), thank you. This made my day," and another said, "Thank u for being an example and protect us all in the #LGBTQ community."