Former Blue bandmember Duncan James has said he's "proud to be gay" after posting an adorable picture of himself cosying up to his Brazilian boyfriend Rodrigo Reis.

The singer explained that he has hidden his sexuality for decades after confirming his new relationship, saying; "Finally, I'm happy in my skin."

The 41-year-old emotionally showed gratitude to his fans for "amazing" support and "love" since he came out.

Writing to his Twitter followers, he scribed the caption;

"I posted this pic on my Insta yesterday and couldn't get over the amazing response, comments and love from people.

"I didn’t identify as a gay man for many years because of my own issues with coming out, but finally im happy in my skin & this guy next to me makes me proud to be gay."

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Duncan James (@mrduncanjames) on

He mentioned in 2009 that he was bisexual, and came out as gay to his Blue bandmate Simon Webbe in 2012.

"When I told Simon, he encouraged me to speak to my mum, who was in LA with me in a hotel at the time.

"I raided my mini bar, drank a load of drinks, then knocked on her door," he continued.

"I was sobbing and I sat her down and said: 'Remember my friend Pete? I’ve been in love with him. He’s been my secret boyfriend.'"

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by  (@mrduncanjames) on

"She said: 'You’re gay? I thought you were going to say you had cancer.'"

He recently told the Loose Women panel that coming out as gay was the "best thing he ever did" after years of "living a lie."

Duncan has a 14-year-old daughter Tiane from a previous relationship, and only began showing pictures of Rodrigo a month ago.

Feature image: Instagram/@mrduncanjames