Matt Dallas crash landed onto our TV screens without a belly button in the 2006 ABC Family hit alien drama Kyle XY, but behind the scenes, the 36-year-old was struggling to keep his sexuality a secret under the ultimatum of a successful career.

He opened up about his rise into the spotlight on his latest vlog with his husband, Blue Hamilton.

"When I first started seeing success from Kyle XY," began Dallas, "I was told to stay in the closet, not talk about my sexuality, to be on every red carpet with a girl on my arm because you could not be successful if you were openly gay in the entertainment industry, at least in front of the camera."

He continued:

"I wish I had not have taken that advice. I'm not sure how that would've affected my career then because it was a very different time.

Because of the advice that was given to me to stay in the closet, I became very disconnected from who I was, and there’s a lot of residual stuff that to this day that I still deal with where I find myself [thinking] 'oh, I sound too gay' or 'I’m acting too gay' because it was so drilled into my brain."

Dallas didn't come out publicly until 2013 when he announced his engagement to his current husband. The two now have a son together. 

After Dallas shared his experience, Hamilton chimed in, "Be visible. Be very, very visible. And gay."

Watch the Matt's vlog below.