Lukas portrayed fan-favourite Ryder Jackson on Home and Away (Picture: Channel 5 / Seven / Endemol Shine)
Home and Away star Lukas Radovich has opened up about his sexuality, revealing a five year journey for him to get to the stage where he felt comfortable enough to be able to discuss it.
The actor, who played Ryder Jackson in the Aussie soap which airs on Channel 5 in the UK, described that when he was in his young twenties he was still ‘discovering’ himself.
‘The last five years have been quite a big journey for me,’ he said in a new interview. ‘One, because of the show, but also too coming into my own sense of self, just being comfortable I guess.’
Lukas, 28, came out to his friends and family a number of years ago – before he joined Home and Away – and revealed that he’s in a relationship with professional men’s netballer Liam Forcadilla for three years.
‘I am quite a shy person by nature, quite introverted, so it takes a while for me to warm up to talking about things,’ the soap star told the Daily Telegraph.
‘And then after that it just wasn’t an issue.’
Ruder left the Bay last year (Picture: Channel 5 / Seven / Endemol Shine)
‘[Liam] is actually the first person I introduced [to] my parents; that was my way of telling them.’
Lukas played Ryder on Home and Away between 2017 and 2022.
Ryder, who was firm fan favourite with fans of the show, left Summer Bay after he bagged a job on a cruise ship as a mixologist, in scenes which aired last year.
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Ahead of his on-screen exit, Lukas discussed his character’s exit storyline with Metro.co.uk, telling us: ‘Ryder decides that he needs to be the one making the important decisions in his life.’
‘He creates a plan for himself for the future, which enables him to be able to live his best life and explore the world.’
Home and Away air weekdays at 1:45pm on Channel 5, with first look episodes airing at 6:30pm on 5Star.
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Lukas said that the last five years have been quite a journey.