Despite having spent most of his years in the public eye, Tevin Campbell has lived a very private life.

When not cranking out renditions of beloved classics like ‘Round and Round’ and ‘Can We Talk,’ the now-45-year-old R&B veteran hasn’t talked much about his personal happenings – until now.

Months after getting fans chatting in response to his “official coming out” on Twitter, the ‘I’m Ready’ singer is finally ready to expound on his journey of shielding his sexuality from music lovers.

Taking to PEOPLE, Campbell waxed honest about being a closeted teen star in the 90’s and even praised today’s crop of LGBTQ+ movers and shakers for their daringness to live openly.

Hop inside to see his touching quotes.

Recently guesting on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast, Tevin talked at length (for the first time) about his personal experience as a gay man in the music industry.

“I refer to myself as a former child star because that’s just what I am,” he said before addressing his label’s attempt to market him as a teen heterosexual heartthrob.“I don’t think the sex symbol thing worked…I didn’t hide anything about me. I didn’t try to act a certain way or anything. You just couldn’t be [gay] back then.”

Campbell reveals his journey to self-discovery didn’t really begin until his music career started to fizzle in the late 90s.

“When I came out to my family and friends [at] about 19 or 20, that was it for me. And then I went on the road of discovering myself. I didn’t know who I was,” he revealed. “Being around people who were like me, LGBTQ+ people that were living normal lives and had partners. I had never seen that. That was a great time in my life.”

Because he had already come out to those important to him, Tevin says his “official coming out” to fans in March 2022 – which put years of rumors to rest – was just casual.

 “I love my fans, but what they think about my sexuality is of no importance to me,” the GRAMMY nominee relayed.

All-in-all, Campbell is glad today’s crop of LGBTQ+ stars have more supportive spaces to be themselves.

“It wasn’t like that in the ’90s,” he said when asked about Frank Ocean and Lil Nas X. “But I’m glad I get to see it. I’m glad that’s changing. There are a lot of kids, especially young Black boys that need to see representation. They’re not being taught to love themselves because of who they are.”

Click here to hear his full interview with PEOPLE.

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