Best known as a member of the “Brat Pack”, Rob Lowe is an actor who rose to stardom as a teen idol in the 80s. Brat Pack is a nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s. Joining Rob Lowe in the said group were Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy.
Rob Lowe, whose real name is Robert Hepler Lowe, made his acting debut at the age of 15 and was considered as an 80s heartthrob. He has been active in the business for four decades now. He has done quite a lot of films and TV series and among the most prominent of them were “The Outsiders” (1983), “Parks and Recreation” (2010–2014, 2015), and “The West Wing” (1999–2003).
Rob Lowe has faced gay rumors throughout his career, likely stemming from his good looks, charm, and the roles he has played in various films and TV shows. Now let’s try to find out if there’s any truth behind these rumors. Is Rob Lowe gay? Read on for the answer.
VOTE: What is Rob Lowe’s Sexuality?
Why Fans Think Rob Lowe Might be Gay
There’s no smoke without fire, so they say, so there must be some good reason why some fans, even after all these decades, still believe that Rob Lowe might be gay. And here are the reasons why they do so.
The rumor about the actor’s sexuality started way back in the early 1980s when a sex tape of him, with two other women in bed (in which one of them was 16 years old at that time), was released. Okay, there was nothing gay about him being intimate with two women at the same time. Except that the sex tape was shown over and over again at gay bars. That somehow sparked rumors about the actor’s sexuality.
Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Rob Lowe kissed men on screen. In his appearance in the American comedy-drama TV series “Californication” (2007-2014), the actor locked lips with another actor, Evan Handler. In 2014, the actor released his memoir titled “Love Life” wherein he mentioned kissing Handler was something he did “with romantic intent” and that he “liked and admired him very much.”
Lowe is also a part of the gay movie “Behind the Candelabra” (2013). Getting projects like this fuels the rumor about the actor’s sexuality.
Another factor that may contribute to fans believing that Rob Lowe might be gay is the fact that he has always been comfortable and accommodating to his gay fans. That and the fact that his brother, Chad Lowe, despite the fact that he had been married in the past, had always been thought of as a closeted gay.
On Past Scandals and Current Relationships
Rob Lowe, being the 80s heartthrob that he was, was involved with several women in the past. He was jumping from one relationship to another. This was, however, changed when he met the love of his life, the one person who finally made him settle down — Sheryl Berkoff. The actor has been married to the fashion designer for more than 30 years now.
The couple met on a blind date in 1983. They went on several dates together but both of them weren’t ready for a serious relationship at that time, so it didn’t work out. They met again seven years later on the set of Lowe’s movie, “Bad Influence” (1990), where Berkoff was the actor’s makeup artist. Talk about fate!
They started dating for real this time and roughly a year later, they got married.
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It wasn’t a bed of roses for the couple. In fact, at the peak of the success of “Bad Influence”, the actor’s sex tape was leaked to the public. It was a sex scandal involving several women, in whom some of them were underage. The sex tape was being sold on the black market for $500 to $1000.
Fortunately, his wife didn’t give up on him.
I had met my now wife, Sheryl, and was attempting my first try at monogamy – which was not really in my nature at the time – and I wasn’t able to do it. It made me examine how I was living my life. That led me to get sober, which led me to change in my life – giving me everything I now have.”
Rob Lowe told Haute Living in an 2014 interview
The actor had always been open about the impact his wife had on his life. She didn’t only make him commit to a monogamous relationship, she also helped him get out of alcoholism. The couple had two sons, Matthew Lowe and John Lowe.
Rob Lowe’s Dating History
Rob Lowe had been linked to several women before he decided to settle down with his wife. He may be a changed man, but let’s take a look at the long list of women who were linked with him in the past.
With the number of women who were involved with the actor, it is impossible to put them in chronological order. Most of these relationships were, in fact, overlapping, since he was open about being in polygamous relationships.
Naming all the girls he had dated or slept with is impossible, so we will just mention the famous ones. We have Marlee Matlin, Winona Ryder, and Melissa Gilbert topping the list. We also have Laura Dunlop, Janice Dickinson, and Fawn Hall. The 80s heartthrob was even linked to Princess Stéphanie of Monaco — tenth in line of succession to the Monegasque throne — in 1986, while he was dating Melissa Gilbert.
Rob Lowe was in a relationship with Melissa Gilbert for seven years, from 1980 to 1987. She was only 17 when they started dating. She even got pregnant while they were together. Rob proposed to her, too. But he was involved with several women — such as Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and Nastassja Kinski — while they were in a relationship, so, of course, it didn’t work out.
I had lost my baby and my relationship with Rob, and it hurt like hell.”
Melissa Gilbert revealed in her memoir titled “Prairie Tale”
Is Rob Lowe Gay?
Now back to the question of whether the 80s heartthrob is gay or not, the answer is NO. Rob Lowe is not gay. With the number of women he has been involved with in the past, there is no doubt that the actor is straight. Lowe has consistently maintained that he is straight and has been in long-term relationships with women, which he believes should put the rumors to rest.