Everyone nowadays has a gaydar that can tell when someone is gay. Once you interact with a gay person, your intuition tells you what their sexual orientation is and there is usually a high chance that you are right. This was exactly the case with Gus Fring, a character in Breaking Bad and in it’s sequel, Better Call Saul, who fans loved and suspected was gay. The conversation about his sexuality went on for many years before it was put to rest wit confirmation that he was indeed gay.
Who is Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul?
You do not want to mess with a person like Gus Fring if you came across them in real life. Like you would expect from someone in the drug business, the character was one to be feared. Of South American origin, Gus specialized in the distribution of meth.
When he was starting off, Gus got involved with a Mexican cartel. Against his wishes, he entered a partnership with the cartel, and business was good. He set up two legitimate businesses – fried chicken restaurant chain and an industrial laundry facility – as a front for meth distribution and avenue for money laundering.
Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, the lead characters of Breaking Bad who were producing meth, later go into business with Fring. Their dealings started off smoothly before their relationship turned soar and they turned against themselves.
How the Speculations About Gus Fring’s Sexuality Started
Gus Fring became a fan favorite character immediately he appeared on the show. This favorite status meant that fans dissected every aspect of him, and one of them was his sexuality. Gus was advanced in age but didn’t have anything romantic to do with any person of the opposite sex.
This led to rumors that the character was gay, and soon enough, little tidbits seemingly confirming those rumors started emerging. For instance, it was always known that something quite traumatic had happened to Fring back in Mexico before he emigrated to the US, and we get a feel of this in a flashback scene in Breaking Bad Season 4 Episode 8 titled Hermanos.
It shows Gus Fring with a close business partner named Maximino. They approach a Mexican drug lord named Don Eladio and offer to sell meth for him. Eladio is, however, convinced that cocaine is the superior product and has Maximio killed in front of Gus. The incident devastated Gus and set him on a revenge path against the cartel. Such strong feelings made people suspect that Gus Fring and Maximino were not just only business partners but had something more going on between them.
Following this incident, Breaking Bad concentrates on other aspects of Fring’s character, ignoring his sexuality. The next time it is discussed is in Better Call Saul when cartel leader Hector Salamanca suggests that Gus’ fried chicken restaurant chain called Chicken Brothers should be renamed Butt Brothers.
Later on in the show, two cartel leaders discuss Gus and refer to Maximino as Gus’ boyfriend. Gus would later purchase a massive villa that has a fountain he dedicated to Maximino.
All these suggestions, including comments by show creator Vince Gilligan who said he believed Max and Gus were more than friends, propelled the conversation about Gus Fring’s sexuality.
Is Gus Fring Gay?
We can say without any doubt that Gus Fring was gay in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Moving away from speculation, the first pointer to the character’s sexuality came in the sixth season of Better Call Saul where Gus flirts with a waiter before realizing that he had let his guard down and exits the bar.
Another pointer are comments by showrunner Peter Gould on a podcast where he was trying to shine more light on Gus and said the character was holding onto the romance he had with his boyfriend Maximino.
Does Gus Fring Have a Boyfriend?
No one else other than the slain Maximino Arciniega on either Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul was referred to as Gus Fring’s boyfriend. The duo’s relationship began a long time ago, with Fring paying for Max to study biochemistry and chemical engineering in college.
After graduating, the duo went into the drug business, with Max cooking meth while Gus ran the operation. Proceeds from this helped them set up businesses that served as fronts for their drug sale. Things were going well with them until ambition took them to meet cartel boss Don Eladio for a partnership and Eladio killed Max to halt their business.
Max’s death was one that Gus never truly recovered from, and so he dedicated his life to exacting revenge. He also set up a scholarship to benefit college students in Max’s honor.
Is Gus Fring Married?
Gus Fring was not married. His failure to get married may be entangled with his sexuality. He lived in an era as well as a world where it was quite difficult to be gay, and as such, he kept what he had with Max under wraps.
Of course, there are gay people who repress their sexuality and force themselves to marry members of the opposite sex, but Gus Fring never did that. He never got married nor had kids before he was killed off by Hector Salamanca.
Is Gus Fring Gay in Real Life?
The sexuality of any actor who plays a gay role is often questioned, especially if their acting is well received by fans and critics alike. This appears to be the case with Giancarlo Esposito who plays Gus Fring, but we can assure you that he is not gay.
The American actor of Italian and African American heritage was previously married to a woman. He wife was a lady named Joy Madrigal, and together they welcomed four daughters before they divorced.
