Scott Gill Is John Barrowman’s Partner He Instantly Knew He Wanted to Spend His Life With

John Barrowman’s husband, Scott Gill, is the keel underneath his ship keeping him afloat, according to the Scottish-American actor. The pair have been constant companions since the early nineties.

John Barrowman has a considerable capacity for love as his omnisexual character Captain Jack Harkness in “Torchwood” and “Dr. Who.” Still, in his private life, he only has eyes for his architect husband, Scott Gill.

The actor has been broody for children for over a decade, often bringing it up in interviews. However, it took the intensity of the 2020 lockdown to get his longtime partner to get on the page with him.

John Barrowman and Scott Gill (right) attending the ITV Palooza held at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London, on November 23, 2021. | Source: Getty Images

John Barrowman Knew He’d Found the Man He Wanted to “Spend the Rest of His Life with” When He Met Scott Gill

Backstage after his production of “Rope” at the Minerva Theatre, in 1993, Barrowman became infatuated with a stranger who was there with a mutual friend. Somehow, the actor knew that Gill was someone he could “spend the rest of his life with.”

Despite the instant attraction from his side, the thespian only made a move nine months later when the actor saw the architect and a common friend on the streets of London. He invited them to watch his star turn in “Sunset Boulevard” that evening, and they sealed their connection with dinner after the show.

The world-traveling pair split their time between the dream ocean-view six-bedroom home Gill designed for them in Cardiff, their apartment in London, and Palm Springs, where the actor’s parents settled down.

According to some reports, Gill is an architect by trade and a licensed pilot. He built a complex 7500+ piece Lego Millennium Falcon in 2020 and is also an avid reader. The couple has three dogs, Dixie, Jack, and Harris, but Dixie is the only puppy who sleeps on Gill’s pillow.

Like his exhibitionist partner, the architect has a nonchalant attitude about nudity. He accidentally exposed himself to thousands when he got into a hot tub naked while his husband was on Instagram Live. The actor later said they were not embarrassed about the incident but that it was an honest mistake.

The Brit was in a music video for Danielle LoPresti’s pro-gay anthem “Holy” in 2016 and “The Making of Me” in 2008 with his husband. Save for two appearances on the British daytime talk show “Loose Women,” the creative lets his husband take the spotlight.

John Barrowman (L) and Scott Gill arrive at the TVChoice Awards 2010 held at The Dorchester, on September 6, 2010 in London, England. | Source Getty Images

The Emotional Reason behind John Barrowman’s Decision to Marry His Partner

Two days after Christmas in 2006, the couple entered into a civil partnership, the only option for same-sex couples in the UK at the time, in Cardiff, Wales. Photos of the duo’s ceremony at the St. David’s Hotel garnered a beautiful spread in the UK celebrity magazine OK!

The actor was a late bloomer to some significant milestones, like coming out as gay in his mid-twenties and now deciding to grow his family in his fifties.

However, after an incident in 2013 with a US customs official who said they did not recognize their partnership, Barrowman and Gill decided to become husbands in the eyes of the law. Fortunately for them, California had just legalized same-sex marriage, so they became one of the first couples to take advantage of this.

On July 2, 2013, the couple donned casual T-shirts and sang all the way to the Palm Springs registry office. There was no special treatment for the showbiz pair who queued with couples who had waited decades to have the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.

While at the registry office, fans recognized the star and asked him to be their witness. The newlyweds bore witness to more than ten unions that day, some in their late 70s and 80s, some whose families had disowned them.

A “chuffed” and proud Barrowman said their decision to get married felt just right: “I started welling up when we said our vows. It was the same with our civil partnership. I think it was because I never thought we’d be able to do it.”

John Barrowman (2nd L) poses with husband Scott Gill (L) and parents Marion and John Barrowman after being awarded an MBE at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on October 14, 2014, in London, England. | Source: Getty Images

John and Scott Look Forward to Becoming Parents

The actor was a late bloomer to some significant milestones, like coming out as gay in his mid-twenties and now deciding to grow his family in his fifties. The couple arrived on the other side of a lonely lockdown in 2020, realizing they needed children. Barrowman said:

‘I’d like a child of my own. Scott’s more into adopting an older child, but he’s always said to me, ‘If you’d like to have a baby, you do it. I’ll obviously go along with it.’ I said, ‘It doesn’t work that way. I can’t go out like I’m going to buy a new car.'”

According to his husband, Gill likes the idea of possibly adopting older siblings who the pair can give a stable home.

The “Arrow” actor conceded that becoming parents in their fifties meant that they might not be able to kick around a soccer ball with the kids as well, but that they have a lot of love and guidance to offer the next generation.

Barrowman and Gill have an excellent example of older parents in Elton John and David Furnish, who had two babies via a surrogate when the singer was in his 60s.

Scott Gill and John Barrowman attend the press night performance of ”Pretty Woman” at the Piccadilly Theatre, on March 2, 2020, in London, England. | Source: Getty Images

The “Torchwood” star shared in 2014 that an unnamed famous actress friend had once offered to be their surrogate.

Barrowman shared in 2018 that while supportive of his desire to have a child, the architect was not ready to be a father then. The Scottish star admitted that his hectic schedule, which included a lot of travel at the time, would probably also not be fair on a kid.