COVER STORY
BEING KELLY
THE NATIONAL TREASURE TALKS EXCLUSIVELY TO DIVA ABOUT HER COMING OUT JOURNEY, BEING GAY IN THE ARMY AND MENTAL WELLBEING
WORDS NIC CROSARA
It’s not every day you get to meet a household name, so there is an understandable buzz of anticipation in the photography studio in Barnet, London, as we prepare for the arrival of Dame Kelly Holmes.
When the retired middle-distance runner and double Olympic gold medal winner arrives it is all hugs, smiles and laughter. The energy she exudes is truly magnetic and puts everyone instantly at ease.
In 2004, AKA “the perfect year for Kelly Holmes”, Kelly competed at the Athens Olympics aged 34, a year before she’d announce her retirement from athletics. She won not one, but two gold medals, making her the oldest woman to win either race as well as the first woman to win two gold medals for Great Britain at the same games, establishing her legacy as an athletics hero, game-changer and legend. Aged eight at the time, I can still remember my relatives rejoicing as we watched from our living room.
Having had so many of her big life moments captured onscreen, Kelly’s face has never been able to conceal her emotions. Disbelief, relief, pride and sheer joy can be seen spread across her face in the clips of her at the Athens Games as she threw her arms up in victory. She was celebrated as a national treasure, and yet, she was carrying the burden of hiding a huge truth from the public: she was a gay woman.
˝I have to be true to myself˝
Photos LEZLI + ROSE
Hair and make-up Alice Theobald
@arlingtonartists using Armani,
Living Proof and Murad Kelly wears
Denim suit by Michael Kors
Kelly wears
Cropped blazer by Victoria Beckham
Blue jeans by Frame
Fast forward to June 2022, and Kelly is sitting across from Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning in her first live interview since revealing her sexuality.This is ahead of the release of her Being Me documentary, which gives a raw and brave depiction of her coming out journey and shares why she kept this secret for more than 30 years. “The documentary was a way of me articulating the fear I’ve had for so many years and to enable me to have a platform that hopefully educates and informs people of the complexities of maybe being gay as well,” Kelly tells Holly and Phillip, the mix of emotions clear across her face. “I’ve never said that ever, that I’m a gay woman, publicly, on TV. And people don’t realise how hard it is to say that word. I’m not ashamed, I’m not ashamed, and I’ve been this since I was 18, but it’s really hard when you’re documenting different parts of your life that you’ve had to keep inside.”