TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has explained that he's made moves to keep his private life out of the public eye, as he believes his relationship with his partner is scrutinised more because they are a gay couple.
The Taoiseach opened up about his private life, childhood and relationship with doctor Matt Barrett in a rare personal interview.
He admitted he feels his relationship - which up to recently he was more public about - has come under added scrutiny because he is gay and not married.
Speaking to the Ciara Phelan Podcast, he said: "I do think to a certain extent though, as well, at least for a couple of years, we were quite public in our relationship. We have pulled back from that a bit."
Despite acknowledging his desire to keep his relationship more private, he also noted that there has been a rise in homophobia in Ireland.
"Homophobia has become a little more acceptable again," he said. "I'm not sure why. I think the debate around trans issues might be part of that. It's become a getaway for some people to become homophobic again."
The Taoiseach also said he hasn't ruled out marrying his partner-of-eight-years at some stage, though he confessed that raising children may be a step too far - at least at the moment.
He continued: "I definitely believe in marriage, it's a very important institution. It's not something that we plan to do at the moment, definitely not something ruled out. I do think that if we were to have a family, that would be different.
"That's a different level of commitment again when you have a family and there's children involved. At the moment, the two of us are just so busy. I don't see how we'd be able to raise a family and do it to the best of our ability.
"I'm in awe of colleagues who are able to do their job and do it well and still raise kids."
He also admitted he first sensed he was gay when he was as young as seven or eight, but recalled he thought it was a phase that might pass.
He said his father wasn't surprised at all when he told him he was gay, whilst his mother was afraid his sexuality would be used against him in his career.
He added: "I had a lot of concerns that people would see me differently and treat me differently - that didn't really happen."
