Robert Sheehan’s sexuality: All about his sexuality experiments

Robert Sheehan was a relatively unknown star before appearing in The Umbrella Academy as the fan-favorite character Klaus Hargreeves. The role expanded his fame as he embodied a haunted character with the strange gift of communicating with the dead. Klaus has a strained relationship with his adoptive father, Reginald, following a traumatic graveyard encounter during his childhood. 

The pair’s relationship and Klaus seemed to improve in season 3, but that finale negated Klaus’s tremendous progress. “He’ll be going back to those very destructive sorts of self-piteous mindsets,” Robert spoke about Klaus’ storyline in a potential season 4. 

Before Netflix decides whether to renew the series for season 4, let’s look at Robert Sheehan’s sexuality. Robert’s been very forthcoming about sexuality and love-life matters; as you might expect, his personal life is quite intriguing. 

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After graduating high school, Robert moved to Galway to study film and television. His time at the institution didn’t go as planned – he dropped out – but he enjoyed living in a city with many opportunities to meet girls. 

Galway also gave him a chance to experiment with boys. Robert told The Independent:

“I explored my sexuality, just to see if there were any tinges in a gay or bisexual area, but there wasn’t really for me. I gave it a few tries though.”

Robert told Hot Press that it would’ve been irresponsible not to question his sexuality. “I had a couple of experiences when I was younger with dudes where I tried it, experimented, to see if it did anything for me,” Sheehan said. “And it didn’t.”

Sheehan said he took a couple of beers to loosen him up, but he didn’t enjoy the experience. “I bowed out after a couple of minutes,” Robert said. 

Robert identifies as straight, but gender doesn’t matter to him when filming sex scenes. Sheehan told Hot Press that comfort, not gender, is the most significant consideration when filming sex scenes. He explained:

“It depends on who with – and I don’t necessarily mean gender. If I’m comfortable with the person it doesn’t matter. And if I’m not comfortable with the person then I find it hard. Well, I find it soft! Do you know what I mean? I don’t come!”

For people as famous as Sheehan, finding a sexual partner is easy; however, finding a romantic partner is quite tricky. Sheehan told Hot Press that he sees little value in promiscuous sex. He explained:

“It’s a compulsive behaviour and frankly it’s not a very fucking healthy one. And if you follow it too much, I think you end up with a great low in terms of your mental health.”

Sheehan opines that he has better sex with people he’s built a connection with. “I would not in a million years have sex with somebody just because they’re physically attractive anymore,” Robert said. “I’ve no interest in that. It would make me feel depressed.”

Robert refused to rule out dating a fan, but he said that the imbalance between him and his fans makes a potential relationship feel exploitative. “That’s why I try to avoid that,” he said. 

Sheehan said that a relationship with an ex-lover changed when his career started taking off. He explained: “I was going out with somebody when I was 21/22 who I loved really intensely. But my life was changing rapidly at that point and it definitely put a strain on that relationship.”

Nearly a decade later, his fame has grown, making it more challenging to hold down a relationship. “It’s easier to meet someone when you’re famous but harder to conduct a relationship with someone,” he told the Independent. In the October 2021 interview, Robert said he was dating but didn’t reveal his partner’s identity:

“There is someone (significant) now and it’s been an interesting learning challenge for me; a confrontation with the self and noticing old patterns emerge and then watching them dissolve. At ground level, relationships have become easier for me because I know that what I’m fighting with is myself.”

Robert told Hot Press that he wouldn’t want to miss out on parenthood. “No fucking way – there’s no way I’m not starting a family,” Robert said. 

In February 2019, he told the Irish Mirror that his baby fever had intensified after spending time with his friends’ babies. He explained:

“If the swimmers comply, I’d love to be a dad. I was holding Tom and Laura Hopper’s baby yesterday and it was so nice, I really want one, my ovaries are glowing.”

Sheehan said his friend Duncan Jones had advised him to have children when young because parenting is an energy-intensive activity. Robert continued:

“You know I was talking to my mate Duncan, we’ll drop the name, why now, Duncan Jones, who directed me in Mute, and he’s 47 or so and has just had his second child and he said ‘Robert, if you can get started on the kids earlier do. I’m knackered.’”

For a long time, it looked like Robert would settle with French-Algerian actress Sofia Boutella. The pair met on the set of Jet Trash and started dating. Robert told the Independent that the couple’s busy schedules affected the relationship, but they were coping. 

“When you’re two actors, you’re peripatetic, you have to drop everything and go sometimes and a relationship has to adapt,” he explained. 

About a year and a half later, Sheehan revealed to Hot Press that his relationship with Sofia had ended, but he didn’t go into the details of the breakup. Sheehan said:

“We loved each other a lot. We had a similar life, which was problematic. Long distance. A lot of long distance, which was tough. It put a strain on things. But she’s a magnificent person. She (French-Algerian actress Sofia Boutella – JOT) really is. Luckily, we’re still friends. We still love each other a lot. We still acknowledge that, you know.”