Marcus Collins has admitted he kept his hellish upbringing to himself during his impressive run on The X Factor because he didnât think people would take it seriously.
âI knew if I said, âI grew up in a council flat, just me and my mum, we had nothing. My mumâs had cancer, I thought I was going to be orphaned and out and on my own,ââ people would be like, âSo what? Sob story, heâs just making it upâ.â
The singer, runner-up to Little Mix on the ITV1 show, added: âI didnât want to do that. It had nothing to do with anything.
âIt just made me work harder but so what? Everyone works hard. So I was very conscious not to do a big sob story.â
Instead, the 23-year-old Liverpool lad focused on explaining to his grandparents he was gay.
He told Attitude magazine: âThey were like, âIt doesnât matter. Gay, straight, win, lose or draw, youâre still our grandson and we love youâ.â
Read the full interview in the April issue of Attitude.
VIDEO: Marcus Collins is beaten by Little Mix to X Factor glory