Tommy Fleming Says He Is Gay After 20-Year Marriage Break-Up

Tommy Fleming said he is gay in his first interview since separating from his wife, Tina, and said he had been “living a lie.” The singer spoke to Ciara Kelly on The Hard Shoulder on Newstalk, turning a private separation into a public account of how the marriage came apart after more than 20 years together.

Living a lie

Fleming said “small cracks started to appear” mainly for him, and that the break between the couple was not sudden. “And with every crack that appeared, there was a new crack and a new crack, and those cracks became a chasm,” he said, adding: “I just wasn't happy, I wasn't happy with my own situation. I wasn't happy, and it wasn't about being happy.”

He also said: “It was about being uncomfortable with the situation, if that makes sense. I'd been living a lie for all my life, really.” For a public figure whose relationship lasted more than 20 years, that language puts the breakdown in direct personal terms rather than the vague phrasing that often follows a split.

St Patrick's treatment

Last September, Fleming attempted to take his life and was treated at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services. He said he felt “an overwhelming sense of absolute sadness and hopelessness,” then described medicating with alcohol and drugs: “They were a painkiller to help me sleep, and it was across a broad spectrum of prescription medication, illegal substances, alcohol, all of the above that I dabbled with.”

He also said a phone conversation that was leaked had been recorded and shared without his knowledge while he was in St Patrick’s, and that he does not remember the call taking place. That detail adds a harder edge to the story: the interview does not just reveal his sexuality, it also shows how much of his recent life was already under strain before he spoke publicly.

Tina Fleming statement

Tina said in a statement to the Sunday Independent last week that the marriage had ended and that they had been separated since October 2025. Fleming said the relationship’s end was seven months ago, and the public timing now gives the separation a clear place on the record after weeks of outside speculation.

Fleming said that since coming out, “the last thing I wanted was a drink,” a line that points to a clear shift away from the coping habits he described earlier. The immediate takeaway is simple: he has made his sexuality public, tied that to the marriage breakdown, and said he is trying to leave the alcohol and drugs behind rather than carry them into the next phase of his life.