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Jonathan Groff | Source: Getty Images
Jonathan Groff | Source: Getty Images

Jonathan Groff's Partner: The Actor Keeps His Love Life Private Though He Was Linked to Some Famous Men

Jana Stevens
Jun 10, 2023
02:15 P.M.

Jonathan Groff lived with a partner when he was 19 and found the strength through theater to come out to his family, friends, and the world four years later. Jonathan Groff and an old boyfriend were recently spotted out and about.

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Being the slobbering King George in "Hamilton" made Jonathan Groff and his castmates household names in a way one does not usually see for Broadway performers.

With only nine minutes on stage, he convinced the Tony Awards to give him a second nomination; he had gotten his first at 21 for his portrayal of Melchior Gaborin in "Spring Awakening."

Jonathan Groff poses at the opening night of the Second Stage production of "Between Riverside and Crazy" on Broadway at The Hayes Theater, on December 19, 2022, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

Jonathan Groff poses at the opening night of the Second Stage production of "Between Riverside and Crazy" on Broadway at The Hayes Theater, on December 19, 2022, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

The cast album of "Hamilton" garnered him a shared Grammy award, and Disney's release of a taped recording in 2020 helped bring the perpetually sold-out stage production to the masses. His voice was further immortalized as Kristoff in "Frozen."

On television, he reunited with his "Spring Awakening" co-star and friend Lea Michele in "Glee" for 14 episodes over its six-season run and courted an adult audience in Netflix's "Mindhunter."

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The actor lives in Chelsea, Manhattan, and hopes to someday start an artists' colony on the ground he purchased adjoining his dad's horse farm. With an aversion to social media, the star does not chronicle dating highs and lows.

Jonathan Groff attends the European premiere of Disney's "Frozen 2," on November 17, 2019, in London, England. | Source: Getty Images

Jonathan Groff attends the European premiere of Disney's "Frozen 2," on November 17, 2019, in London, England. | Source: Getty Images

Jonathan Groff Publicly Came out as Gay When He Was 23

It had been a month since 23-year-old Groff left "Spring Awakening," in which his character "did not let the world define him," when a Broadway.com reporter asked the actor if he was gay.

The actor, who has known the answer since an early age, did not answer immediately. Groff returned to the journalist because, for him, "love is more important than career." He recalled:

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"And so I walked over to her again and said, 'Hey, I know you wanted to ask me a question. I'm sorry to walk over here again after you asked me that. But yeah, I'm gay.' And she was like, 'On the record?' And I said, 'Yes.'"

The original cast of "Spring Awakening" pose at a 'Spring Awakening' Anniversary Reunion Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater, on December 2, 2013, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

The original cast of "Spring Awakening" pose at a 'Spring Awakening' Anniversary Reunion Off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater, on December 2, 2013, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

When he came to the personal revelation, Groff had been traveling by himself upon leaving the show. He came out to friends and family but did not know how to go public until the reporter approached him in Washington, DC. His closest confidants found out in different ways.

Playing to the source material, his love interest in "Spring Awakening," Lea Michele, had fallen in love with him during his run on the show. She shared her feelings at a party and asked why he did not feel the same. She remembered the incident in the show's documentary 15 years later:

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"And I just saw this look in his eyes, and in that moment, I knew. I realized in that moment, 'This is the end.' And I need to protect this. This is intense."

Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff are seen attending the 2023 Met Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, on May 1, 2023, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff are seen attending the 2023 Met Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, on May 1, 2023, in New York City. | Source: Getty Images

Michele did not ask her co-star about his sexuality again, and they built a deep friendship that still holds up over a decade later. When Groff came out to her, he did use the term gay; he said:

"My roommate's not my roommate. He's my boyfriend."

Out of her own accord, the "Funny Girl" actress offered to be her friend's surrogate if he wanted to start a family, as she loved being pregnant with her son, Ever Leo Reich.

Gavin Creel and Jonathan Groff attend the National Equality March on October 11, 2009, in Washington, DC. | Source: Getty Images

Gavin Creel and Jonathan Groff attend the National Equality March on October 11, 2009, in Washington, DC. | Source: Getty Images

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Jonathan Groff Used to Date Actors Gavin Creel and Zachary Quinto

The person Groff lived with when he came out in 2008, was Gavin Creel, and he changed the performer's "life in so many ways." The love they shared was part of why he could live his truth in the open.

Zachary Quinto and the "Hamilton" actor went public with their relationship in a September 2012 Out Magazine profile.

Creel is a multi-talented performer who has worked in the theater and television. He performed at the Tony Awards in 2009 and 2016 and The Olivier Awards in 2014.

Zachary Quinto (L) and Jonathan Groff attend the 2017 GQ Men of the Year party at Chateau Marmont, on December 7, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

Zachary Quinto (L) and Jonathan Groff attend the 2017 GQ Men of the Year party at Chateau Marmont, on December 7, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

The voice actor who worked on "Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure" also has more mature work, a two-episode arc on "American Horror Stories" in 2021. He portrayed Steven Kodaly in the TV musical "She Loves Me" and contributed to the soundtrack.

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When Jonathan Groff is dating, he is not looking for a specific "physical type"; he has dated vastly different men of different ages. He said:

"What I'm looking for is that thing when you sit down with someone, and you can't stop talking to each other."

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Zachary Quinto and the "Hamilton" actor went public with their relationship in a September 2012 Out Magazine profile of the former. "I'm incredibly happy, I'm incredibly lucky," was all Quintoa wanted to say about the relationship.

The "Heroes" star and Groff reportedly had an amicable breakup due to scheduling conflicts, per a US Weekly in a mid-2013 article.

Ten years after their split, the former lovers were snapped talking animatedly on the streets of New York City on May 2, 2023. No mention from either camp if there has been a reconciliation.

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Jonathan Groff's Last Known Boyfriend Was Choreographer Corey Baker

The "Mindhunter" star met his next partner, Corey Baker, while temporally teaching at the Christchurch International Musical Theatre Summer School while traveling with his mother in New Zealand.

Christchurch native Baker is an innovative choreographer of the acclaimed "Swan Lake Bath Ballet," where top ballerinas performed in their bathroom during the COVID-19 lockdown.

At the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Baker was appointed the choreographer and movement director for the opening ceremony.

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Groff was by his man's side during a screening of "Antarctica: The First Dance" in April 2018, which Baker choreographed. On James Corden's show, the actor joked about the chaste '"high school" start to their courtship as they were both living with their moms.

The duo reportedly split in 2020. Without naming names, Baker spoke about how his ADHD and dyslexia caused him anxiety and contributed to the decline of his mental health towards the end of a "significant relationship."

Choreographer, Corey Baker during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony Rehearsal in Birmingham. Picture date: Tuesday May 31, 2022. | Source:  Getty Images

Choreographer, Corey Baker during the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony Rehearsal in Birmingham. Picture date: Tuesday May 31, 2022. | Source: Getty Images

In a December 2021 episode of the podcast "Move Beyond Words," the award-winning choreographer said that due to the nature of the long-distance relationship. Communication was vital, so texting and emails were "built into the infrastructure" of the liaison.

"I felt overwhelmed with managing that. And I think that didn't help that relationship, actually. It's tricky," he explained on the podcast that spotlights successful people with dyslexia.

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