Gillian Anderson Reveals ‘Secret' Same-S-- Relationship as a Teen in Rare Interview

Gillian Anderson is opening up about a private chapter from her teenage years.

The X-Files star reflected on her early relationships in a new interview, including a romance she had with an “older girl” while she was still in high school. Anderson looked back on the experience and how she viewed her sexuality at the time.

“It felt secretive and illicit and wrong and we had to hide,” she said in The Sunday Times piece, published on Sunday, August 16. “Later on, I had a boyfriend who found out and broke up with me.”

Although Anderson has had romantic connections with women, she said she has never identified herself as gay, as she also dated “a couple of boyfriends” throughout her younger years.

“But I definitely felt I didn’t have the language for it,” she reflected. “Even later on when I had other relationships [with women] I’m not sure I ever thought of them as being potentially forever.”

“The person I consider my life partner happens to be male, but I think I would feel the same way if it were a woman,” she told the outlet. “I’d feel, ‘This is my life partner.’ When I was younger, there were parts of my brain that thought [women] were temporary.”

Anderson also took a look back at her childhood and her relationship with her mother, revealing that the two have gone to therapy together.

Her teenage years were anything but ordinary. Anderson said she began going to g-- bars while she was still very young.

“I was getting into gay bars and dancing at 12 with a fake ID,” she recalled. “I had the conversation with my mum about the things that were allowed. I was such a strong-willed child she would say there was no telling me, and she’s right.”

“But next was a boyfriend who was so much older — I was 15, and he was 24,” she continued. “We were together for three years.”

The actress moved from London to Grand Rapids, Mich., when she was 11 years old.

Anderson has had several high-profile marriages and long-term relationships throughout her life.

From 1994 to 1997, she was married to Clyde Klotz, whom she met while working on The X-Files. Klotz worked as an assistant art director on the series.

The former couple share one daughter, Piper Maru.

Anderson later married Julian Ozanne, with their marriage lasting from 2004 to 2006. She went on to have a relationship with businessman Mark Griffiths, with whom she shares two sons, Oscar and Felix. The couple split in 2012.

Anderson began dating Peter Morgan, the creator and writer of The Crown, in 2016.

The pair had an on-and-off relationship for several years, with reconciliation rumors surfacing in 2024 following their 2020 breakup.

Anderson previously opened up about the unconventional setup that worked for them, explaining that having separate homes helped maintain their connection.

“My partner and I don’t live together. If we did, that would be the end of us. It works so well as it is – it feels so special when we do come together," she said.