Diksha Sundriyal
FX’s ‘Adults’ follows a group of friends in their 20s who share a house in Queens, New York. While we get an occasional look at their professional lives, their personal lives are at the focus of the story, particularly when it comes to romance. The second season features a love triangle between three friends: Issa, Paul Baker, and Anton. While Issa and Paul Baker are dating, it turns out that there is something between Paul Baker and Anton as well. Interestingly, the fluidity of Paul Baker’s fictional romantic life has led fans to speculate about the nature of actor Jack Innanen’s real-life romances as well. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Jack Innanen Does Not Share the Sexual Preferences of Paul Baker
In ‘Adults,’ Paul Baker is established early on as a sexually fluid character. While he is dating Issa, he is not straight. He refuses to put a label on his sexual preferences, instead calling himself fluid, which means he is attracted to a person rather than their gender or sex. In real life, actor Jack Innanen is straight. While appearing on the ‘Disgraceful With Grace O’Malley’ podcast, he cleared up the doubts that fans have had about his sexuality. He confirmed that he is straight, revealing that there was only one time in his life when he questioned his sexuality. He revealed that when he was in middle school, another kid called him gay. It was meant to tease him and was more about the other kid’s homophobia than Innanen’s queerness.
While he did not take it as an insult, it made young Innanen wonder whether he was attracted to men. He gave it some thought and eventually concluded that he was attracted only to women, not men. Over the years, Innanen has been known to have exclusively dated women. He was last known to have been in a relationship with social media personality and TikTok content creator Lauren Cantrell. While he may not share the sexual preferences of his character on ‘Adults,’ Innanen is a vocal ally of the LGBTQIA+ community. He also revealed that he relates to Paul Baker in several ways, particularly in the struggles he and his Gen-Z friends go through over the course of the two seasons.
He loves playing Paul Baker and is particularly interested in the dynamic between him and Anton. The first season and the special prequel episode lay the foundation of their relationship. However, it is in the second season that things start to pick up between them. As Issa begins to pick up on the very real feelings between the men, cracks start to appear in her otherwise loving and seemingly perfect relationship with Paul Baker. By the end of the season, all three of them reach a point where they can not only be honest about their feelings but are also supportive of each other’s romantic endeavors. This leads to a major shift in the trio’s dating situation, paving the way for new discoveries and revelations in the next season.
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