Lance Bass feared coming out as gay because he thought it would mean his band 'N Sync would become hated.
Lance Bass
The singer wed his partner of three years last year - Michael Turchin - but didn't state he was a homosexual whilst the band were together because he thought it may hinder their success.
Speaking in Attitude magazine's new Love & Marriage issue, he explained: "I had a lot of pressures on me at that point. Not only was I keeping the secret from my family, but I also had this career with four of my best friends.
"I knew, in the late 1990s/early 2000s, that if I came out, people would hate 'N Sync, and that would be the end of our career. There was no way I was going to do that to my four best friends, so, as long as I was with them, I was asexual."
Instead, Lance avoided relationships of any kind until the band took a hiatus back in 2002, after which he felt he could finally explore his sexuality without jeapordising the careers of fellow bandmates Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick and JC Chasez.
"I wasn't with a girl, I wasn't with a guy, I just focused on work, and it kept me out of trouble.
"It wasn't until I realised there wasn't going to be another 'N Sync album that I felt ready!
"I wasn't even that sad about the end of 'N Sync as I felt that I'd actually get to be myself from then on. That's when I started finding myself and started dating guys - it was great."
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