Page "Divine (performer)" Paragraph 37

Divine was gay, and during the 1980s had an extended relationship with a married man named Lee, who accompanied him almost everywhere that he went.

They later separated, and Divine would go on to have a brief affair with the gay porn star Leo Ford, something that was widely written and gossiped about in the gay press.

According to his manager Bernard Jay, Divine would also regularly engage in sexual activities with young men that he would meet while performing, sometimes becoming infatuated with them.

In one case, he met a young man in Israel with whom he slept and subsequently wanted to bring back to the United States, something that his manager prevented him from doing.

This image of promiscuity was however disputed by his friend Anne Cersosimo, who claimed that Divine never exhibited such behavior when on tour.

Divine initially avoided informing the media about his sexuality, even when questioned by interviewers, and would sometimes hint that he was bisexual, but in the latter part of the 1980s decided to change this attitude and began being open about his homosexuality.

Nonetheless, he avoided getting into discussions regarding gay rights, partially at the advice of his manager, realizing that it would have had a negative effect on his career.