James Faulkner publically announced he is in a same-sex relationship. Photo / Instagram
James Faulkner publically announced he is in a same-sex relationship. Photo / Instagram
Former Australian cricketer James Faulkner took fans by surprise when he seemed to reveal he was gay in an Instagram post last night.
But in a sudden turn of events, he has said "there seems to be a misunderstanding".
Faulkner posted a photo having a birthday dinner with his mother and friend Rob Jubb - who the World Cup-winning cricketer described as his 'boyfriend' - with heart emojis and the hashtag "together for 5 years".
"Birthday dinner with the boyfriend [Rob Jubb] and my mother [Roslyn Carol Faulkner] #togetehrfor5years," he wrote.
Fans - and former teammates - quickly began commenting, congratulating the all-rounder for "coming out".
"Great courage mate, bet u feel better happy birthday," one person commented.
"If this is your coming out post then congrats, mate," wrote another.
"Happy birthday mate! Great courage," Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell wrote, while former fast bowler Shaun Tait added: "Great courage mate, bet u feel better".
However, Faulkner made a new post confirming he was in fact not gay.
"There seems to be a misunderstanding about my post from last night, I am not gay, however it has been fantastic to see the support from and for the LBGT community. Let's never forget love is love, however @robjubbsta is just a great friend. Last night marked five years of being house mates! Good on everyone for being so supportive."
Cricket Australia also confirmed that Faulkner is not in a same-sex relationship.
"I've just spoken to Cricket Australia – categorically been taken out of context, this whole post," a spokesperson said.
"Apparently he was taking the mickey out of the fact that he works alongside this person in the photo and he hasn't come out."
Faulkner clarified the original post on Instagram adding 'best mate!!!' in brackets after calling Jubb his boyfriend.
Faulkner has played 69 ODIs and 24 T20 internationals, winning the Man of the Match award in the 2015 World Cup final which Australia won by seven wickets over the Black Caps.
