Rosie Perez Says Keeping Quiet About Teenage Same-Sex Relationship Hurt Her Growing Up
![Rosie Perez is not shy about revealing that she went through a "questioning" phase about her sexuality as a teenager. The 50-year-old co-host of <em>The View </em>spoke at TrevorLIVE New York on Monday to support The Trevor Project -- an LGBTQ youth foundation that focuses on suicide prevention -- where she revealed her junior high relationship with another girl named Michelle. "Every human being, whether they want to admit it or not, went through a period of questioning. I know I did," Perez said. <strong>PHOTOS: 13 Celebs to Come Out as Bisexual</strong> After meeting Michelle, she joked, "all I wanted to do was hump her." It turns out the feeling was mutual. "And I suppressed the urge and suppressed the urge and suppressed the urge until Michelle one day started humping on me," the <em>Do the Right Thing</em> star recalled. But when their relationship eventually ended, understandably, Perez said she was "hurt," and wished she had someone to talk to a la The Trevor Project hotline. "I remember that hurt, and that hurt kept me silent and that silence brought shame," she said. "I didn't have a community. I didn't have The Trevor Project." These days, Perez is married to artist Eric Haze, and has been since September 2013. "I know I'm not lesbian, gay or whatever, I'm a quasi-straight person [but] I still went through that period," she clarified. "And I thought I was all alone." "If I had other people, specifically adults, if I was just able to call up and they said, 'Oh, I humped the Michelle-type person too, you're normal, don't worry. You're either gonna go here, there or in the middle, don't worry about it, it'll pass. You're just figuring it out,' even that simple statement, that simple conversation of someone else -- an adult telling their story to a child -- would have made all the difference in the world," she mused. "Thank God we're here in the 21st century and we have that with The Trevor Project." <strong>WATCH: Stars Honor Jane Lynch at TrevorLIVE Los Angeles</strong> Earlier this month, Miley Cyrus revealed she started having romantic feelings for women at 14 years old. Watch below:](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/7Xd3_MXPrs5akcKpQuBWOA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en-us/homerun/etonline.tv/8c6b50fc80a2e7487baa7784247e883b)
![Rosie Perez is not shy about revealing that she went through a "questioning" phase about her sexuality as a teenager. The 50-year-old co-host of <em>The View </em>spoke at TrevorLIVE New York on Monday to support The Trevor Project -- an LGBTQ youth foundation that focuses on suicide prevention -- where she revealed her junior high relationship with another girl named Michelle. "Every human being, whether they want to admit it or not, went through a period of questioning. I know I did," Perez said. <strong>PHOTOS: 13 Celebs to Come Out as Bisexual</strong> After meeting Michelle, she joked, "all I wanted to do was hump her." It turns out the feeling was mutual. "And I suppressed the urge and suppressed the urge and suppressed the urge until Michelle one day started humping on me," the <em>Do the Right Thing</em> star recalled. But when their relationship eventually ended, understandably, Perez said she was "hurt," and wished she had someone to talk to a la The Trevor Project hotline. "I remember that hurt, and that hurt kept me silent and that silence brought shame," she said. "I didn't have a community. I didn't have The Trevor Project." These days, Perez is married to artist Eric Haze, and has been since September 2013. "I know I'm not lesbian, gay or whatever, I'm a quasi-straight person [but] I still went through that period," she clarified. "And I thought I was all alone." "If I had other people, specifically adults, if I was just able to call up and they said, 'Oh, I humped the Michelle-type person too, you're normal, don't worry. You're either gonna go here, there or in the middle, don't worry about it, it'll pass. You're just figuring it out,' even that simple statement, that simple conversation of someone else -- an adult telling their story to a child -- would have made all the difference in the world," she mused. "Thank God we're here in the 21st century and we have that with The Trevor Project." <strong>WATCH: Stars Honor Jane Lynch at TrevorLIVE Los Angeles</strong> Earlier this month, Miley Cyrus revealed she started having romantic feelings for women at 14 years old. Watch below:](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/aoUiHJxraweEDGUo.iYnhQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en-us/homerun/etonline.tv/2e8a0f4fe39084a4fe10e746962907d1)
Rosie Perez is not shy about revealing that she went through a "questioning" phase about her sexuality as a teenager.
The 50-year-old co-host of The View spoke at TrevorLIVE New York on Monday to support The Trevor Project -- an LGBTQ youth foundation that focuses on suicide prevention -- where she revealed her junior high relationship with another girl named Michelle.
"Every human being, whether they want to admit it or not, went through a period of questioning. I know I did," Perez said.
PHOTOS: 13 Celebs to Come Out as Bisexual
After meeting Michelle, she joked, "all I wanted to do was hump her."
It turns out the feeling was mutual.
"And I suppressed the urge and suppressed the urge and suppressed the urge until Michelle one day started humping on me," the Do the Right Thing star recalled.
But when their relationship eventually ended, understandably, Perez said she was "hurt," and wished she had someone to talk to a la The Trevor Project hotline. "I remember that hurt, and that hurt kept me silent and that silence brought shame," she said. "I didn't have a community. I didn't have The Trevor Project."
These days, Perez is married to artist Eric Haze, and has been since September 2013.
"I know I'm not lesbian, gay or whatever, I'm a quasi-straight person [but] I still went through that period," she clarified. "And I thought I was all alone."
"If I had other people, specifically adults, if I was just able to call up and they said, 'Oh, I humped the Michelle-type person too, you're normal, don't worry. You're either gonna go here, there or in the middle, don't worry about it, it'll pass. You're just figuring it out,' even that simple statement, that simple conversation of someone else -- an adult telling their story to a child -- would have made all the difference in the world," she mused. "Thank God we're here in the 21st century and we have that with The Trevor Project."
WATCH: Stars Honor Jane Lynch at TrevorLIVE Los Angeles
Earlier this month, Miley Cyrus revealed she started having romantic feelings for women at 14 years old. Watch below:
Rumer Willis Shows Off Her Fit Bikini Bod
Hailey Baldwin Shines in a String Bikini
Behati Prinsloo Strips Down for Victoria’s Secret
