-_- Bob Paris // Gay Former Mr // Universe // Suffered Death Threats And Heartbreak After Coming Out ''Video''!!

Bob Paris, a gay former Mr. Universe who came out of the closet in the July issue of Ironman magazine in 1989, admitted recently that he suffered death threats following his announcement. Later that year, Bob Paris would marry his bodybuilding boyfriend, Rod Jackson, and discuss his announcement on the Oprah Winfrey show. In a recent video shared on Oprah: Where Are They Now?, Paris revealed that life after coming out was very difficult and even cost him his first openly gay relationship.

In the 1980′s, Bob Paris was considered one of the best bodybuilders in the world. It was his 1983 IFBB Mr. Universe win that ultimately thrust the secretly gay athlete into the professional world of bodybuilding. Each year, he continued to rise in popularity, but underneath it all he felt he was hiding who he really was. Paris had such an impressive physique and stage presence, that no one would have ever considered him gay. In 2006, Flex Magazine called him the most “aesthetic athlete” in the history of bodybuilding.