Troye Sivan Opens Up About Dating, Online Homophobia & Stalkers

Australian singer-songwriter Troye Sivan recently opened up about his sex life, dealing with stalkers, and the upcoming release of his single “Rush.”

The 28-year-old star who got his start making YouTube videos as teen, shot to superstardom after releasing two critically-lauded albums, Blue Neighborhood and Bloom, and has now set his sights on acting, appearing in the most infamous show of the summer, The Weekend’s Idol.

In an in-depth interview with GQ published yesterday, Sivan talked how he spent much of lockdown grieving the loss of a long-term relationship, but once he started going out again he found himself drawn to short-term connections, “whether it's a one-night stand, or someone that you meet for 10 minutes at a club, or somebody you end up dating for like a couple of weeks.”

Through these experiences the “My! My! My!” singer discovered a love for sex and connecting with other people. “I had come from such a serious relationship and didn't place much value on other forms of intimacy,” he said. “Then, over time, I started to realize that I just love people, and I love community, and sex.”

Despite these amazing experiences, Sivan has also had to deal with a lot of criticism and even abuse from the public over the years, most recently because of his role on the university-derided show Idol. But the “Seventeen” singer mostly let’s these critiques role off of his back.

“I’m an actor on this show, and I went and did my absolute best … and now I want to enjoy the result of that,” he said in the interview. “I’m okay with whatever people want to say about it. It’s a TV show. People can hate it, people can love it. I really don’t mind.”

More concerning are the homophobic comments he receives online and the fans who take their love of his work too far.

Earlier this month Sivan made a TikTok video thirsting over K-pop singer Hyunjin with the caption, “Anyone know how to reach this man?” Some of Hyunjin’s fans loved this, but other people lashed out at the star.

“I just got crazy, crazy messages for a few days,” he revealed. “Death threats, homophobic stuff. But, I’ve been on the internet long enough to know that everything’s fine.”

He manages to stay positive through all the online hate, but when it crosses over into real-life stalking, that’s a different story.

“I’ve definitely had my fair share of like stalkers and stuff like that … And you know what’s really weird? They’re all way older, not young people. Like, 60s,” he confided.

People have even shown up at his house bringing him gifts and have followed him around inside supermarkets.

“You can feel it immediately, the difference between someone who’s a supportive listener of your music who just wants to say hi, and someone who’s going to show up at your house,” he said.

Despite these negative fan interactions, Sivan is continuing to find success. The pop star's new single “Rush'' drops on July 13 and he is currently finishing up his third album which he promises is “hopeful, joyous, sexy.”