Inside the love life of SATC's Willie Garson: Star enjoyed blind date with Sarah Jessica Parker and kept his sexuality a secret due to controversy of playing a gay part as a straight man
- While his most famous role was playing Stanford Blatch, who was gay, Willie was heterosexual
- He was once set up on a blind date with the show's main character Sarah Jessica Parker before they starred on Sex and the City together
- Willie was also in a long-term relationship with a woman who did not want children
- He adopted a son Nathen, now 20, alone in 2009
- Last year, Willie explained how fans were often surprised he was straight and how he kept it a secret 'for years' over fears it would be 'offensive'
Willie Garson may have played iconic Gay Best Friend Stanford Blatch in Sex and The City, but in real life, he was straight and enjoyed 'a very long flirtation' with co-star Sarah Jessica Parker.
The 57-year-old, who died this week following a secret battle with pancreatic cancer, even once went on a blind date with SJP - years before they appeared together on the hit HBO show.
Willie never married although he enjoyed a 'long relationship, off and on, for like 20 years' during the 90s and early 2000s.
After their final breakup, he admitted that he still hoped to 'meet a nice girl and have someone to grow old with', but said it would be 'fine if I never get married.'
He also adopted his son Nathen, now 20, in 2009 after the split, something he'd not been able to do with his ex as she never wanted children.
In an interview with Page Six last year, Willie said that fans of the show were often surprised to learn that he was straight.
Sad news: Sex and the City's Willie Garson's love life has been revealed after his death aged 57, following a secret battle with pancreatic cancer (pictured with Sarah Jessica Parker in 2007 who he once went on a blind date with)
'At the beginning, you would approach someone at a bar and realize, "Oh, they want to be Stanford's best friend,"' he said. 'They don't necessarily want to sleep with you.'
'When the question would come up [with interviewers], I would say, "When I was on White Collar no one ever asked me if I was a conman, and when I was on NYPD Blue, nobody ever asked me if I was a murderer. This is what we do for a living, portray people,' he said.
He added that he kept his heterosexuality a secret 'for years' over fears it would be 'offensive to gay people' if they thought he saw being gay as a 'bad thing' and felt the need to prove he wasn't.
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Difficult: In an interview with Page Six last year Willie explained how fans of the show were often surprised that he was straight and how he kept it a secret 'for years' over fears it would be 'offensive to gay people' (pictured with on-screen husband Anthony Marentino played by Mario Cantone)
Family: Willie was also in a long-term relationship with a woman who did not want children and so opted to adopt his son Nathen, now 20, alone in 2009 (pictured in 2019)
'For years I didn't talk about it because I found it to be offensive to gay people,' he said.
'People playing gay characters jumping up and down screaming that they’re not gay, like that would somehow be a bad thing if they were,' he went on.
Willie, who also played the part of Mozzie in White Collar, actually dated his co-star Sarah Jessica years before they became on-screen buds in SATC.
'I've known Sarah for 15 years,' he told Out magazine in 2000. 'We were set up once, had a very long flirtation, and then just settled into being best friends, something I think really reads on the show.
'It's funny,' he added, 'She's said in interviews that every single one of her friends is gay, "except for Willie Garson."'
Fling: While his most famous role was playing Stanford, who was gay, Willie was heterosexual and was once set up on a blind date with the show's main character Sarah (pictured together this summer)
But his longest relationship was with an unidentified woman whom he dated on and off for two decades — but one of the final straws appears to have been that she didn't want a child as much as he did.
'I very much always wanted to have a child,' he told Page Six.
'I had a long relationship, off and on, for like 20 years and she never wanted to have a child, which is fine. And it was like my mid-life crisis, I really wanted a child more than anything else and I got one. We’re partners, my kid and I.'
'We had a smooth transition because we both wanted this adoption,' he added to People. 'Fatherhood is what I always wanted it to be. I wanted it so badly and he wanted it so badly. I think often it can be difficult because it’s not that balanced.'
Last year, Willie opened up about his love of being a father, gushing of son Nathen: 'He's an adult and soon to be taking care of me which is really why I got him to be honest. He's lovely and a really special guy. He's wonderful and he's in college in Ohio.'
Willie also told People last year that Nathen is friends with James Wilkie, the son that Parker shares with her husband Matthew Broderick.
Revelations: He said of his brief dalliance with Carrie Bradshaw actress Sarah: 'I've known Sarah for 15 years — we were set up once, had a very long flirtation, and then just settled into being best friends, something I think really reads on the show' (pictured in 2008)
'They’re buddies,' he said. 'We go out to the beach with them and have a great time.'
He added that Nathen had come from a 'rougher' background, and when Willie adopted him in 2009, James 'was just very welcoming.'
In 2011, two years after adopting Nathen, Willie admitted that he hadn't had a serious relationship in a while, and Nathen was enjoying them being a duo.
'I go on dates in New York but nothing serious right now. I haven't had a girlfriend in a long time,' he said.
'[Nathan]says, "You can never get married." He wants me all to himself - and I quite enjoy that,' he went on. 'I'd still like to meet a nice girl and have someone to grow old with.
However, he added to Grazia that it would be OK if he never married.
'My feeling has always been that it's fine if I never get married,' he said.
'I've got close to it, but I'm glad we didn't. I was in a relationship, she didn't want to have kids and it ended. Not because of that, but it was always an issue.'
Star: Along with being apart of the beloved series, Garson also appeared in the first Sex And The City feature film in 2008 and its sequel, titled Sex and the City 2, in 2010
Nathen announced his father's death yesterday on Instagram.
He wrote: 'I love you so much papa. Rest In Peace and I'm so glad you got to share all your adventures with me and were able to accomplish so much. I'm so proud of you.
'I will always love you, but I think it's time for you to go on an adventure of your own. You'll always be with me.
'Love you more than you will ever know and I'm glad you can be at peace now. You always were the toughest and funniest and smartest person I've known. I'm glad you shared you[r] love with me. I'll never forget it or lose it'.
His passing comes amid filming for the revival series And Just Like That..., leaving the future of storylines uncertain. He was last seen visiting the set on 3 August.
To Dad: Willie's son Nathen took to Instagram to pen a letter to his now deceased father, who he deemed 'the toughest and funniest and smartest person I've known'
Favorites: The 20-year-old, along with his heartfelt words, included some of his favorite images of Willie
Willie Garson's Best SATC Moments
BIG TOOL FOR YOU
In Sex At The City Series Two, Episode 12, La Douleur Exquise!, which aired in 1999, Stanford revealed his quest for love had taken him online.
He confided in Carrie that he was using fetish websites for underwear obsessives using the name Rick9+.
Carrie is left in hysterics when she discovers he is chatting to a fellow underwear lover who uses the screen name Big Tool For You.
When Stanford attends a nightclub in search of Big Tool For You, he hilariously chickens out and asks a potential suitor: 'Beer too for you?'
STANFORD AND ANTHONY ARE MARRIED BY LIZA
The divisive second Sex And The City Movie, which was released in 2010, opened with Stanford marrying his former arch nemesis Anthony Marentino, played by Mario Cantone.
With Carrie acting as Best Woman, the couple were married by gay icon Liza Minnelli, who performed a rendition of Single Ladies by Beyonce following on from the nuptials.
Speaking of the ostentatious wedding, Stanford said to Carrie: 'Too much? - When are swans ever too much? I don't know what came over me. Remember that summer when I got hooked on coke? This was like that'
PROM QUEEN AND QUEEN
In 2003's Boy, Interrupted, the 10th episode of Series Six, Stanford delightedly tells Carrie he is on the decorating committee for a prom fundraiser.
At this stage Stanford was dating his beloved boyfriend Marcus, played by Sean Palmer, and the pair got in a fight earlier on.
As Carrie dances with Stanford, Marcus arrives to cut in and reunite with an elated Stanford as they round out the prom together.
