Born as Joseph Daniel Votto on September 10, 1983, Joey Votto is a Canadian professional baseball player. This 39-year-old athlete was known as the Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman and the team’s best hitter.
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Votto, who was considered a “Reds legend” in the making, made his Major League Baseball debut with the Reds in 2007. He has been breaking records ever since, being the second Canadian MLB player, next to Larry Walker, to hit 300 home runs and have 1,000 career runs batted in (RBI). Votto is also the second Canadian to have 2,000 hits, the first also being Walker.
Votto is a six-time MLB All-Star, a seven-time Tip O’Neill Award winner, and two-time Lou Marsh Trophy winner as Canada’s athlete of the year. He also bagged the National League (NL) MVP Award and the NL Hank Aaron Award in 2010. But amidst all these successes in his chosen field, Votto had gone through a lot in his personal life. Aside from his battle with mental health issues, Votto has also faced rumors about his personal life, specifically his sexuality.
So, are these rumors true? Is Joey Votto gay?
VOTE: What is Joey Votto’s Sexuality?
Joey Votto’s Girlfriend
The Cincinnati Reds’ best hitter was not yet married. However, he was in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend, Jeanne Paulus. They have been together for more than nine years now.
It has been reported that Votto met his girlfriend in 2010 when he was still living in Sarasota, Florida, where Paulus resides. He met her when he was grieving over his father’s death and she provided him with the emotional support that he truly needed. The couple has been together since 2013.
Jeanne Paulus is a very private person. The public knew so little about her as she wanted to keep the personal details of her life private. All the public knows about her is the fact that she likes to keep herself busy with her community events.
Although they’re keeping their relationship lowkey and refrained from sharing too much on social media, they were, however, often spotted together in public places. The couple has yet to tie the knot and there was no report about whether they were doing it anytime soon.
Jeanne Paulus is the only relationship Joey Votto has that the public knows of.
On Gay Rumors and His Battles with Depression and Anxiety
Joey Votto had to go on a short break due to “stress-related issues”. He was put on the disabled list in May 2009 because of reasons the team and their management never disclosed at first.
Ridiculous as it is, but his brief hiatus started rumors about him being gay. People on the internet started speculating about different reasons why he suddenly needed to go on a break. But among the many assumptions that they have come up with is about Votto’s sexuality. A lot of people started leaving comments online about his supposed plans to come out as gay.
Among the most ridiculous comments people left online was that Votto would be “outed by his Canadian ex-boyfriend” and that’s giving him so much stress. The incident also gave birth to a lot of memes with regard to Votto’s break and the supposed coming-out story.
Their keeping the reason for his hiatus a secret only heightened the speculations about Votto’s sexuality. However, it was evident that his teammates were aware of the real reason why he needed a break.
We’ll have a little conversation and come to a conclusion about what I need to do next … They know what I’ve been going through. They would be able to say, ‘Are you ready to go?’ My answer would be yes.”
Votto shared in an interview
During the 15-minute press conference held before his first game after the hiatus, which was coincidentally held in Toronto, his hometown, Votto finally addressed the rumors. He opened up to his fans about his battles with anxiety and depression following his father’s death in August 2008.
They were overwhelming me to the point where I needed to go to the hospital on two separate occasions — once in San Diego and once that nobody had been told about, I went to the hospital in Cincinnati when the team was on the road (in early June). It was a very, very scary and crazy night where I had to call 911 at three or four in the morning. It was probably the scariest moment I ever had dealt with in my life, and I went to the hospital that night.”
There were nights that I couldn’t be alone. The one night I was alone, the very first night I was alone, was when I went to the hospital. I couldn’t take it. It just got to the point where I felt I was going to die, really.”
I do know I’ve had a real struggle with my father’s passing.”
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The legendary baseball player also opened up about how important his father was to him and his chosen career.
He was the first one to teach me how to play baseball. I played catch with him on a daily basis when I was real young. He was a big fan, he was just in love with what I did and me. He was a great father to me.”
Joey Votto opening about the struggles he went through, somehow cleared up the gay rumors about him.
Is Joey Votto Gay?
No, Joey Votto is not gay. The reasons behind all the gay rumors about him were nothing but ridiculous comments left by internet trolls. Nothing is true about them. The Cincinnati Reds’ best hitter is straight. He has been, in fact, in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend for almost ten years now.