Barry Manilow Opens Up About Coming Out and His Cancer Battle

Barry Manilow is sharing candid reflections on his journey to coming out and a health scare that changed his perspective.

The legendary 82-year-old publicly revealed his sexuality in 2017, though he had privately married his longtime manager and partner Garry Kief more than a decade before that. Looking back, Manilow explained the calculus behind keeping his personal life private during the height of his career.

"It was a non-event. Nobody gave a s–t," he told the LA Times when asked whether the world's reaction to his coming out felt significant. "They all knew. I never really hid it, but in the '70s and '80s, that would have killed the career, and I didn't want to do that. So I just never talked about it."

The singer and his husband have now been together for over 47 years.

In addition to discussing his path to acceptance, Manilow opened up about a recent health crisis. He sought medical attention in November after experiencing hip pain. During his visit, doctors performed an MRI on his pelvis, and subsequently scanned his lungs after learning he'd recently dealt with bronchitis. That follow-up decision proved crucial.

"If he hadn't done that, man…he saved my life, because there's no symptoms for what I had," Manilow explained. "I could go on, nothing hurt — but they found the dot in my lung. They called me and said, 'Could be cancer.' That's a bad word. 'Not me. F— you. I can't have cancer.'"

The diagnosis came as a shock, particularly since the cancer showed no warning signs. Doctors remain uncertain how long the cancer had been present, with the possibility it could have been years. Manilow emphasized how close he came to a far graver outcome.

"They don't even know how long I had this thing sitting on me. It could have been years. If it had gone any further, then I would be up s—'s creek. It just so happened that it hadn't spread, and boy oh boy, I thought I might be dying."