In the past, Michael Angelakos, leader of indie pop project Passion Pit, has been open about his mental health issues, including his struggle with bipolar disorder. It's an admirable thing, and now the singer has made an even bolder move, making an extremely personal public admission: he is gay.

In an interview with author Bret Easton Ellis for Ellis' podcast "B.E.E," Angelakos opened up about his sexual orientation and the end of his marriage to stylist Kirst Mucci.

“It’s always been about putting it off in my head -- not consciously,” Angelakos said. “I just wanted so badly to be straight, because I love her so much. I think that was one of the most painful things when we decided to separate."

everything's going to be okay

— Passion Pit (@passionpit) November 9, 2015

"I've told very few people in my personal small circles because I don't know how to talk about it, you know?" the 28-year-old told Ellis. "This is the kind of situation every artist wants to be in -- to talk to artists they really admire. When this was all happening recently, finally, I just decided it might be best to talk about it here. I don't really know what happened, but it's just one of those gut feelings. It's the same gut feeling I had when I said, OK, I kind of just need to talk to people about the fact that I am. I'm gay. And that's it. It just has to happen. This was exactly the type of situation where I don't feel like I'm being threatened."

Listen to the full, fascinating (and brave!) interview below. Angelakos starts addressing his sexuality around the 49:00 minute mark.

Passion Pit's most recent album, Kindred, was released earlier this year.