Pop singer and actress Hayley Kiyoko has opened up about what it was like struggling with her sexuality from a young age - revealing to Rolling Stone that she often felt lonely.
"All the girls would go to the Promenade to hang out with cute boys, and it made me feel very alone," Kiyoko, who fans refer to as 'lesbian Jesus', said in an interview with the magazine.
"It was depressing to watch girls that I liked flirt with guys."
She added: "So I just stayed home.’
Realising that she was attracted to other girls from the age of six, Kiyoko admitted that she initially had a hard time making friends.
"Everyone would always think I was with someone else, but I was alone," she recalled.
"I was lonely. I was at home watching movies."
She even shared a story about her childhood best friend, who she viewed as a girlfriend.
"We never kissed," she recalled.
"We would tell each other we loved each other and hold hands under the table. She would cuddle me and tell me she missed me."
She continued: "When I went to kiss her, she looked at me like I was crazy and broke my heart."
It wasn't until she began high school that, with the help of an inclusive group of friends, she began to find her feet.
"My first [female-identifying] friend who liked girls really changed my life because she was comfortable with who she was," Kiyoko said.
