Four Big Revelations from Elliot Page’s “Pageboy”

Elliot Page’s highly anticipated new book Pageboy: A Memoir is finally here.

Pageboy spans the 36-year-old actor’s life, from his relationships with sex and his own body to navigating the often-tumultuous world of Hollywood as one of the most well-known trans celebrities in the world.

“We are all pressured to become a narrow version of ourselves, encouraged to fit rather than blossom,” Page wrote in an Instagram post celebrating Pageboy’s release. “I never thought I’d have the strength to write my story. I hope that by sharing my journey it can help demonstrate that we all — queer, trans and anyone who supports the basic human dignity to live authentically — will not be silenced.”

He continued: “I am so grateful for all the support I’ve received along the way. With love and much respect for those who came before and made this possible.”

We highly recommend picking up a copy of what’s sure to be one of the most-discussed queer books of the year. But in the meantime, here are four things we learned from Page’s memoir:

Page Had A Secret Romance With Actress Kate Mara

Page writes that he met the Class of ‘09 star at a party in early 2014 while filming X-Men: Days of Future Past, and shortly after “my heart was broken.”

Although Mara was dating fellow actor Max Minghella at the time, Page was surprised when the actress began flirting with him upon their first meeting.

“I thought it was a joke,” Page recalls. “Regardless of the boyfriend, I could never imagine Kate Mara would want me.”

Soon afterward, Page came out as gay during a benefit event for LGBTQ+ youth, and he and Mara officially began their affair. He writes that Mara assured him that Minghella “doesn’t care,” and encouraged her to explore her relationship with Page.

“I didn’t believe someone could love two people at the same time before,” Page remembers. “I do now.”

Although the two eventually called it quits, over time, they became friends. They also played love interests in the 2017 film My Days of Mercy.

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“Certain chemistry never faded, but room for realizations left us laughing at how little we had in common,” Page writes. “But what has never, what will never change, is the love between us… Kate is not just a wonderful friend, she is an honest friend.”

A Famous Actor Threatened To Assault Page At A Party After He Came Out As Gay

Shortly after coming out as gay in 2014, Page writes that “one of the most famous actors in the world” threatened to “fuck” him to make him “realize you aren’t gay.”

The anonymous actor also insisted that Page wasn’t gay, but simply “afraid of men.” Page locked himself in a bathroom to escape the man’s advances. He recalls that several days later, they encountered each other at the gym, where the actor claimed he was simply drunk at the time and “doesn’t have a problem with gay people.”

Elliot Page Revealed Tour Dates for His Hotly Anticipated Memoir

The *Umbrella Academy* star will spend Pride Month bringing *Pageboy* nationwide.

Page Was In A Two-Year Relationship With A Closeted Actress

Page says that he and his ex — who he simply refers to as “Ryan” — starred in a movie together and began a relationship while insisting that they were just friends in public. In fact, he says that “some of my friends didn’t even know I was in a relationship.”

He acknowledges that while some readers might be surprised to find that secret queer relationships still exist in the present day, adding “Hell yeah, it does.”

“Ultimately, I do think she loved me… You know, it was really beautiful,” Page writes. “I admired her and she inspired me in so many ways. But feeling hidden was far too painful. That was impossible and not a sustainable relationship at all. And it taught  me that I was not gonna do that again.”

Page’s Father Liked Transphobic Tweets About Him

In Pageboy, the actor also gets candid about his relationship with his parents — including his estranged father Dennis, who he hasn’t spoken to in over five years. After Page came out as trans, he says his dad began supporting “those massive platforms who have attacked and ridiculed me on a global scale.”

One person with such a platform is anti-LGBTQ+ author Jordan Peterson, who was temporarily banned from Twitter in 2022 after making transphobic comments about Page in which he called the surgeon who gave the actor gender-affirming surgery a “criminal physician.”

“When Jordan Peterson was let back on Twitter after he’d made a horrific tweet about me, he posted a video, just his head filling the frame,” Page writes. “Staring menacingly into the camera, he said, ‘We’ll see who cancels who.’ My dad liked it.”

However, Page says his previously strained relationship with his mother Martha — who initially didn’t support Page when he came out as gay — has grown stronger in recent years.

“People can surprise you,” Page notes. “We’ve never been closer, and her willingness to change and grow and move through the discomfort has been powerful and inspiring. She’s become my ally. She loves her son endlessly. I’m lucky to have that, to feel such profound and genuine love. What was the most beautiful and meaningful was to watch her bloom as her old narratives and doctrines faded.”

Pageboy: A Memoir is available now from MacMillan Publishers.

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