"I’ve never really been in any kind of closet."

Author Jacqueline Wilson has revealed that she is gay. The writer, who is responsible for many iconic children's books including The Illustrated Mum, Double Act, and the Tracy Beaker series, has been "living happily" with her partner Trish for the past 18 years. Ahead of the release of her next book Love Frankie, Wilson said that she wanted to tell the story of two young gay girls, knowing "perfectly well that it would shine a little light on my own private life." "I’ve never really been in any kind of closet," she told Guardian Review. "It would be such old news for anybody that has ever known anything much about me. Even the vaguest acquaintance knows perfectly well that we are a couple." Wilson met partner Trish at a party following her divorce from husband of almost 40 years, Millar Wilson. She said that her mother did not approve of her relationship with Trish, but that it "wasn’t too devastating for me because my mum cordially hated my ex-husband; she didn’t really approve of any of my friends." The 74 year old author's latest literary offering, Love Frankie, tells the story of tomboy Frankie who begins to develop feelings for the prettiest girl in her class, Sally. Wilson said that she put her "heart and soul" into the book, but despite its subject matter she does not see it as her "coming out novel." Love Frankie will be available to purchase on April 15, 2020.