If you grew up loving nerdy boys, Star Trek, Stand by Me, or simply had a television in the 1980s and ’90s, there is a decent chance Wil Wheaton was somewhere in your early crush history. The actor now knows that plenty of gay fans once looked at him and thought, Oh. So that’s what I like. And honestly, he seems delighted by the revelation.
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In an interview with The Advocate, the 54-year-old actor opened up about his LGBTQ+ fans, his support for trans people, and the very specific experience of discovering that some of the men who once had crushes on him have since grown into extremely hot dads.
“Love is love!” he said.
And apparently, that love has been coming full circle for decades.
Wil Wheaton Knows He Was Someone’s First Crush
Wheaton has met gay fans over the years who have told him he was their first crush. The funny part? Those fans grew up, too. Some are now dads, and Wheaton has apparently noticed that they are doing quite well for themselves.
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Set phasers to stunned, Star Trek cadets: Wil Wheaton is now the same age that Patrick Stewart was when they began filming Star Trek: The Next Generation! #livelongandprosper pic.twitter.com/xHvR5Mhfp2
— Ryan A Boyles (@theRab) March 11, 2019
“What’s great is that I still meet hot dads today; I’m like, ‘Fucking hot dads, dude!’ I’m just like, ‘Goddamnit, I could climb up those abs!’ And they’re like, ‘You were my first crush!’ And I’m like, ‘First of all, how are you still so hot? You’re my age!’ And second of all, I’m just like, ‘That’s fucking rad. I love that,’” he says.
It is a very specific kind of gay full-circle moment: the former teenage crush meets the grown-up gay man who once had a crush on him, only to discover that apparently neither party has completely lost the plot.
Wheaton’s reaction is refreshingly uncomplicated. He isn’t uncomfortable with the idea that gay men found him attractive. He’s amused, flattered, and seemingly delighted to discover that his younger self occupies a permanent little corner of the gay-crush archives.
And really, who among us hasn’t looked back at an old celebrity crush and thought, Well, that explains several things.
Why Wil Wheaton Speaks Up for Trans People
The first-crush stories are fun, but Wheaton’s conversation with The Advocate also gets more serious when he explains why he publicly supports trans people.
Wheaton attended NYC Pride in June, and his personal website has featured blue, pink, and white banners proclaiming “trans rights are human rights.” He has also shared Pride-related posts on social media.
For Wheaton, speaking up isn’t simply about making supportive statements. He says his own experience of being “othered” has shaped how he responds when he sees other marginalized people being targeted.
“The only way I could be a more protected class of citizen in America is if I were an openly performative Christian nationalist. I’m white. I’m male. I’m upper middle class. I’m semi-famous. I have all kinds of privilege. And yet, I’ve been othered my entire life,” Wheaton said.
“And when I see other people experiencing that, I cannot help myself. I have to throw myself between those people and the people who are hurting them,” he continued.
Wheaton also offered a direct promise to trans people, explaining why he believes his visibility can sometimes reach people who might otherwise refuse to listen.
“Sometimes people who won’t hear you will hear me, even when we’re saying the same thing. And if I can use that privilege to reach that person and make a change, that’s one less person who f***ing hassles you for existing.”
That gives his support a more personal dimension. Wheaton isn’t claiming that his voice matters more than the people he’s supporting. He’s saying that if his particular position allows him to get through to someone who won’t listen to them, he wants to use it.
So, Was Wil Wheaton Your Geeky Gay Awakening?
Let’s be honest: gay men have spent decades conducting unofficial research into the exact moment a childhood celebrity crush became evidence.
For some, it was an actor. For others, it was a musician, a fictional hero, or that suspiciously handsome guy on television who had approximately three lines but somehow became unforgettable. For plenty of fans, Wil Wheaton was apparently part of the equation. And now he knows.
Better yet, he seems genuinely delighted that the nerdy kid many viewers grew up watching became part of their personal gay history — while some of those same fans eventually became the “hot dads” he now encounters.
And honestly, if Wil Wheaton was your gay awakening or your first celebrity crush, it sounds like your younger self may have had pretty good taste. A cute nerdy crush is one thing, but finding out that the guy you once swooned over is also using his platform to stand up for people who are being targeted? Well, suddenly that childhood crush feels like it aged pretty damn well.
So, the important question is no longer whether Wil Wheaton knows he was someone’s first crush. Was he yours?