Nicola Sturgeon has come out as she announced her sexuality "isn't binary".

The former Scottish First Minister leader spoke about her personal life as she said she did not consider sexuality, "my own included, to be binary."

Sturgeon, who led the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023, has revealed the detail in her upcoming memoir, "Frankly."

In the extract, published by The Times, she addressed rumours from social media that she was having an affair with a French female diplomat.

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Nicola Sturgeon has disclosed the detail about her sexuality

She called the rumour that there was a superinjunction in place to stop reporting of any potential affair "a blatant lie".

Addressing her sexuality, she wrote: "For many of those peddling it, 'lesbian' and 'gay' are meant as insults.

"However, while the fact I was being lied about got under my skin, the nature of the insult itself was water off a duck’s back.

"Long-term relationships with men have accounted for more than thirty years of my life, but I have never considered sexuality, my own included, to be binary. Moreover, sexual relationships should be private matters."

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Peter Murrell was chief executive of the SNP for 22 years

The former First Minister met her future husband Peter Murrell at a youth SNP event in 1988. They began dating in 2003 before marrying in 2010.

Sturgeon had strongly denied she was having an affair with a female diplomat, one of the best-known claims, in an interview with the BBC in April 2023 after she stood down as First Minister.

In October 2023, she denied her marriage was on the rocks on a podcast, where she said: "We are still married and will be married for a long time to come."

On January 13 of this year, Sturgeon announced the end of her marriage to Murrell, adding they have been separated for "some time."

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Nicola Sturgeon with current First Minister John Swinney

In the extract, she also discussed the heartbreaking story of when her and Murrell lost their unborn child, Isla, in January 2011.

She wrote: "I don’t want to give the impression that I am full of regret at not having children. I’m not.

"If I could turn the clock back and make it so, I would choose to have a child, but only if I could still do the other things I’ve been able to do too. I don’t feel that my life is worth less.

"But I do deeply regret not getting the chance to be Isla’s mum. It might not make sense, but she feels real to me. And I know that I will mourn her for the rest of my life."