I was ‘outed’ after computer was hacked

JAMIE Love was forced to come out as gay after a stranger hacked his social media and told his friends while growing up in the Middle East.

JamIe was just 16 when his MSN Messenger account was hacked and he was “outed” to his friends as gay.

He had been living in a socially conservative country in the Middle East and attending international school but had a boyfriend in his home city of Edinburgh.

He said: “I was in the Middle East for five years from the age of 13 to 18.

“I had a boyfriend in Edinburgh when I was 16 when my MSN was hacked.

“That generated a lot of online bullying and, to this day, I don’t know who hacked my account. That’s how I was forced to come out to my friends.

“Where I was made it difficult. I had a friend who was disowned after coming out. Another friend was deported after coming out, this is what I was surrounded by.

“My coming out was never my choice. I don’t think the school knew how to deal with it. If they reported the cyber bullying to the police, they would have had to tell them I was gay. A this point, my parents still didn’t know.”

A year later, Jamie’s mum found a note he had been given by a boyfriend and he was forced to come out to his parents. He said: “There is always going to be a part of me who still has a huge question of, if I had opened up more at a younger age, would things have been different? My parents are fine with it, they had no objections. But I wonder if I had trusted people more, would I have had a more positive experience?” Now 26, Jamie says he would urge young people today to “trust themselves” and find communities who understand them.

He hopes sharing his own story will inspire others to celebrate their own identity. He moved back to Scotland after finishing school in pursuit of living his real life. In 2016, he was crowned Mr Gay Scotland and has gone on to run his own inclusive marketing company, Monumental Marketing. He is also marketing director for Edinburgh Pride.

He said: “My parents could never understand why I wanted to leave the Middle East so badly but getting back to Edinburgh was my goal. I went into Mr Gay Scotland to prove I could be celebrated for who I was.” He added: “I don’t know what the environment is like in Scottish high schools but when I compare it to what I lived through, it seems to be much more positive.”

Jamie’s message to younger people today is to “trust yourself”.

He added: A really big problem when you are younger is feeling alone.

“There are lots of online spaces and it’s easier to find connections with people who are going through the same experiences as you.”