Star Jones' Ex Al Reynolds Comes Out: 'I Accept Myself As A Bisexual Man'

Star Jones recently confirmed she’s happily engaged to her boyfriend, but RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal the former The View co-host’s ex-husband Al Reynolds has some big news of his own to share.

Jones, 55, and Chicago-based Ricardo Lugo, an Illinois assistant state’s attorney, began dating in the summer of 2016 — eight years after she and Wall Street executive Reynolds called it quits on their marriage.

Now, in a revealing tell-all exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com, Reynolds confirms all those rumors that have long swirled around his sexuality, opens up about his past struggles with drugs and alcohol, and explains how he finally plans to move forward with his life. “Today,” he told RadarOnline.com, “I accept myself as a bisexual man.”

Ever since I have been in the public eye, people have been speculating on my sexuality. And ‘speculating’ is a kind word for how it actually played out. With anger and disdain, people have been calling me out as gay, closeted, a sham and even nastier; much nastier.

I have come to a point in my life where I am ready to discuss my truth. I wasn’t ready to do this then — I wasn’t even ready to think about it, let alone process it. To understand my journey and how I got to this point, you need to understand a little about me.

I am the youngest of six children in a Southern Baptist family. We grew up in a three-bedroom mobile home in Horsepasture, Virginia. We were deeply religious; when we weren’t in church we were in school or an after-school activity. My life was filled with vacation bible school, missionary meetings, Sunday school, choir practice and youth ministry.

Life was not nuanced or frivolous, nor did it allow any time for introspection. It was clear and proscribed, black and white, angels or sinners. And people who were intimate with others of their own gender were the worst of all with no chance of redemption, or the glorious afterlife that I was taught awaited us all.

As a black man, that message and the hate and homophobia were multiplied to the nth degree. I saw no path out that would resolve my personal feelings with my deeply held and ingrained religious beliefs.

This internal dissonance was a powerful thing, like a cancer eating at one’s soul. This resulted in some tough times — homelessness, unemployment, dependence on drugs and alcohol, public assistance, and, at the center of it all, a deep, deep shame and a feeling of unworthiness of the love of God. I didn’t believe I deserved to live a good life, and I clearly didn’t.

My journey to the light was not a quick one nor an easy one. I threw myself into getting the best education I could, getting three degrees, and working harder than anyone else. I was a classic overachiever, suppressing the real issues of my life. I became a workaholic and have been on Wall Street, a banker, an academic and a consultant.

Today I accept myself as a bisexual man. I have learned that sexual orientation is not binary, at least for me. I am capable of loving both sexes, and I have done both. My relationships, all of them, have been honest and based on my attraction to the other person. When I am in love I don’t equivocate, nor do I waver.

I tell this story to both encourage my personal path, as well as give some small measure of hope to others that no matter your beginnings, no matter the obstacles, there is nothing so fulfilling and Godlike as living the life that was destined.