Is Alice Oseman Gay? She Is Aromantic & Asexual and Penned Romantic Bestsellers

Alice Oseman spent her adolescent years feeling alone and different from her friends, wondering if she was gay. However, the author has since come out as asexual and aromantic, breaking down what those terms mean to her.

Over the years, Alice Oseman has opened up about discovering more about her sexual orientation. The author recalled wondering if she was gay because her feelings about sexuality differed from those of her friends.

However, Alice Oseman later discovered that she was asexual and aromantic. And she broke down what those terms meant to her in an informative Instagram post as the author revealed she didn't believe society would see much cultural change around being asexual and aromantic anytime soon.

Alice Oseman on How She Discovered Her Sexual Orientation

Before becoming the writer and creator of the hit Netflix series "Hearstopper" — co-starring Sebastian Croft, William Gao, Cormac Hyde-Corrin, and Yasmin Finney — Oseman was an adolescent at odds with her sexuality.

Growing up, she was surrounded by friends who had crushes on famous musicians and dreamed of being in romantic relationships with them. And while Oseman liked being in a relationship, she recalled feeling uncomfortable whenever boys showed an interest in her. The author added:

"For a while, I wondered whether the reason I felt nothing for boys was because I was gay, but I didn't fall for any girls either. As a result of this confusion, I felt very alone and wondered whether there was something wrong with me."

Alice Oseman Defining Her Sexuality

Oseman spent years dealing with her internal confusion about her sexuality until she came across the terms "aromantic" and "asexual" while she was in university. However, it still took the author some time to connect those terms with her own experiences, as she knew little about what they meant.

Asexuality is defined as a term that refers to people who feel "little to no physical attraction to anyone of any gender." Just like being straight or gay, asexuality is a sexual orientation and has two sides: sexual attraction and romantic attraction.

Oseman revealed that she was not hopeful that the discourse around asexuality would change anytime soon.

In addition to having little to no physical attraction to anyone, the author has little to no romantic interest in anyone, making her aromantic. At first, Oseman was hesitant to embrace being aromantic and asexual because there was little representation of the identities in films, TV shows, or books. She said:

"There was no one big moment where I was like, 'Oh, that's me.' But while I was at uni … I slowly felt more and more like I identified with those labels."

Since coming out as asexual and aromantic and accepting her true identity, Oseman wanted to incorporate her personal experience into her writing. And in 2020, she penned "Loveless," a love story featuring asexual and aromantic characters.

She has since written bodies of work that include other characters that belong to the LGBTQ+ community, including Kit Connor and Joe Locke's queer roles in "Heartstopper."

Alice Oseman Supported the LGBTQ Community

As Pride month drew to a close in June 2023, the bestselling author shared a snap of herself appearing at a parade and captioned the post, "So grateful to the heartstopper family and all the wonderful people I got to hang out with today!!! Happy Pride!"

Although her sexual identity falls under the ever-growing umbrella of LGBTQIA+, Oseman revealed that she was not hopeful that the discourse around asexuality would change anytime soon.

"We're never really going to see much cultural change in terms of awareness until a big celebrity comes out as being asexual. And there's nothing I can do about that," Oseman said.