According to People magazine, Lance Bass said: "I knew that I was in this popular band and I had four other guys’ careers in my hand, and I knew that if I ever acted on it or even said (that I was gay), it would overpower everything."
His four colleagues were Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake. If he said the truth, Bass feared the end of "N Sync. At the time, he had a lot on his shoulders for keeping secret his sexual orientation.
Fatone, 29, was the first one in the group to notice his friend was gay. He said: "He took years to really think about how he was going to tell everyone. I back him up 100 percent."
For several years, the artist did not speak of his private life. He finally decided to open up publicly, after having informed his family and friends of his homosexuality.
Lance Bass, 27, is enjoying a loving relationship with model and star of the reality show Amazing Race, Reichen Lehmkuhl, 32.