Jason Mraz Opens Up about His Years in the Closet, Didn't Want to Be a 'Joke'

Out singer-songwriter Jason Mraz explained that the reason he didn't come out until he was in his 40s was the homophobic culture around the time of his upbringing, when LGBTQ+ people were considered "a joke," and he didn't want to be "a punchline," The Hollywood Reporter relayed.

The 47-year-old Virginia native embraced authenticity in 2018. His long stint in the closet was due to his '90s upbringing in a conservative place, he told fellow out celeb Jesse Tyler Ferguson during an appearance on the "Dinner's On Me" podcast.

"In the '90s, being gay was like [the] punchline of a joke," THR quoted Mraz telling the "Modern Family" star, "and I didn't want to be the punchline of a joke."

Added THR: "As a teenager, he ultimately decided to keep 'my nose down' and figure out 'ways I could instead get out and see the world one day.'"

Even when he did make his way into the wider world, Mraz told Ferguson, "I still took with me the conservative street that I grew up on, and that was very hard to ignore or to break out of."

Added the "Lucky" singer, "I was very shy and and scared of what my family would say, or what my hometown would think or just whatever."

Mraz had two marriages to female spouses, one of them an eight-year union that ended in 2023, five years after he came out as queer.

"Since publicly identifying himself as a member of the LGBTQ community, 'The Remedy (I Won't Worry)' singer has continued to be open about his journey to self-discovery," THR noted.

Now that he's living authentically, Mraz seems happy. "I love where I am and I feel so much love for myself finally that can only enhance the next relationship," the singer said.