Greaves opens up on coming out as gay after facing “vulgar” comments

BEAU GREAVES says “it’s been tough” since publicly revealing she is gay earlier this year.

The world No74 opened up after sharing a picture of herself with partner Shan Reeves on Instagram, having never formally come out before.

Greaves, 22, first crossed paths with Reeves on the England youth circuit around a decade ago, with the pair now having been a couple for four years.

Beau ‘n’ Arrow admitted she found the reaction on social media difficult after facing crude remarks from a number of men.

She told the Observer: “It’s been tough for me. I never really came out, as such.

“People who knew me, knew, but when we did post about it, there were quite a few vulgar comments from a lot of men.

“When I told my mum and dad, they just said, ‘And?’ At the end of the day, she’s my biggest supporter.

“Why not embrace it for what it is, and not be bothered about what people say?”

But Greaves has flourished on the oche this year and currently sits eighth in the Players Championship Order of Merit with £60,250.

The Doncaster thrower became the first woman to win a PDC ProTour title when she beat former world champion Michael Smith 8-7 in the final.

She has also hit a nine-darter on the floor and became the first woman to win a European Tour match.

Yet it could all have been very different after Greaves battled dartitis and came close to walking away from the sport altogether.

She even started a Level One NVQ in painting and decorating and considered following her dad into window cleaning.

Greaves says she reached a point where she couldn’t be “bothered to cope with it anymore” on the oche.

She added: “The other players don’t have any thoughts in their head.

“You just have to ignore it and switch your brain off sometimes. And that’s what I taught myself to do – just stop thinking about it.”

Words: Aaron Nijjar

Image: Taylor Lanning