Elliot Page shares some heartbreaking experiences in his new, upcoming memoir Pageboy. The actor, 36, opened up about two of his dating experiences with a few fellow actors in the book, and he shared a few more thoughts about it in a new interview with People, published on Friday, June 2. Elliot revealed that he’d had a brief relationship with Kate Mara, 40, and another unnamed actress, who he said was closeted.
When speaking about the relationship with the closeted actress, Elliot explained that they were together for “a decent amount of time,” but their romance was kept a secret. “Some of my closest friends didn’t even know I was in a relationship,” he told the magazine.
While Elliot felt like the relationship was “beautiful” and “fantastic,” he said that he ultimately he wasn’t happy having to hide his love. “We loved each other and that was very real in our bubble,” he said. “Feeling hidden was far too painful. That was impossible and not a sustainable relationship at all. And it taught me that I was not gonna do that again.”
Elliot said that he “fell for” Kate Mara shortly after experiencing some heartbreak, but she was also dating The Handmaid’s Tale star Max Minghella. “This was right after I’d come out as gay and it was a time of exploration and also heartbreak, I think my relationship, or whatever you want to call it with Kate, very much encapsulates a certain dynamic that I consistently found myself in, which was falling for people that — I think a lot of us do this — who aren’t fully available,” he said. “And the sort of safety in that and the highs and the lows and the serotonin bump, and then it goes away.”
Elliot explained that even though the relationship didn’t pan out with The Martian actress, she did read the book, and he said that Kate told him, “I never thought I could be in love with two people and now I know I can.” It’s clear that the two of them have stayed on good terms, and Kate is joining Elliot for a book event in June. He said that he still is very happy with their friendship. “I think the love and care that we have for each other is it’s very own special thing. Separate from the intimacy that I write about,” he said.
The memoir also gets into Elliot’s experiences coming out as gay in 2014 and then, his feelings of gender dysphoria, before he came out as a trans man in 2020. In the interview, he opened up about experiencing homophobia from another actor, but also some of the friendships with other stars that have helped him through his life. Pageboy will be released on June 6.