Kelly Lawler

USA TODAY

Colton Haynes, the star best known for Teen Wolf and Arrow and the millions of teens who follow his every move online, has always been very forthcoming about his personal life. He's opened up about his issues with anxiety, as well as interacted with his fans on social media personally. And a certain social media post had a lot of his fans churning in January.

Now he is being more direct about things, in a new profile in Entertainment Weekly. The actor confirmed that he is in fact gay in the interview, and also discussed how much better he feels now that it's all out in the open.

What sparked speculation about Haynes' sexuality was a certain Tumblr post on his official account in January. The actor reposted a fan who said Haynes had a "secret gay past," responding with, "Was it a secret? Let’s all just enjoy life & have no regrets :)" (the post has over 26,000 notes on Tumblr as of posting).

“I should have made a comment or a statement, but I just wasn’t ready," he told the magazine. "I didn’t feel like I owed anyone anything. I think in due time, everyone has to make those decisions when they’re ready, and I wasn’t yet. But I felt like I was letting people down by not coming forward with the rest of what I should have said.”

“People want you to be that GQ image that you put out, but people don’t realize what it’s like to act 24 hours a day. I’d go home and I was still acting,” he added. “People who are so judgmental about those who are gay or different don’t realize that acting 24 hours a day is the most exhausting thing in the world.”

So how is he feeling now? Pretty good.

“It took me so long to get to this point, but I’m doing so good,” Haynes said in the interview. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and healthier than I’ve ever been, and that’s what I care about.”