Lance Bass came out to the world in 2006, via a cover story in People magazine. But on Monday night's episode of "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," the former boy-band heartthrob said he came out to Britney Spears two years before that.
And in the case of that earlier reveal, timing was everything.
The 40-year-old star recalled it all during a chat with host Andy Cohen.
"It was the night that she got married the first time, in Vegas ... to Jason," he said, setting the scene.
As a refresher for Spears fans who may only remember her three-year union with one-time backup dancer Kevin Federline, the pop princess first took an impulsive walk down the aisle with childhood friend Jason Alexander.
It was a wedding she was quick to regret, as evidenced by the annulment she got just 55 hours later — and by the state Bass found her in just moments after she said "I do."
"So I went up to Vegas to kind of see the craziness that was happening," Bass said, explaining why he attended the spur-of-the-moment event. "And she was a little upset once she realized what she had done because, you know, it was a funny thing. And then she started, like, really crying and she was so upset."
When offering her a shoulder to cry on wasn't enough to offset the emotional moment, Bass decided he'd try to shock the tears away.
"I took her to her room, and we were sitting on her bed and she wouldn't stop crying, so I was like, 'I'm gay!'" he said.
The best part? It worked.
"It made her stop crying," he explained. And when Cohen asked if Spears reacted in a sweet and supportive way, Bass said she did, adding that she also "chuckled" — which was a big step up from the waterworks of moments earlier.
In an episode of Al Roker's "COLD CUTS" last year, Bass recalled the moment that led to him coming out on the cover of People magazine.
"I'm at a gay bar, waiting in line for the bathroom, and I’m talking to this guy, and he's like, 'You’re Lance Bass!' And I’m like, 'Yeah.' He goes, 'You're gay?' I'm like, 'Yeah.' He was a reporter," he told Al. "So that's when it started getting out. And the magazines were like, look, we have to write this story with or without you, so what are you going to do?"