Was Perry Mason Gay? Who Was His Love Interest?

Among many iterations of Perry Mason’s character, the main focus is always on his intellect and capabilities as an investigator and defense attorney. Since Erle Stanley Gardner created this iconic character, Mason’s private life was only vaguely described, so we mostly got a feeling of Perry being married to his work. However, all of that changed in HBO’s Perry Mason show as the show introduced this defense attorney in a somewhat different light, whose work is still his primary passion, but also has his love life intertwining with his work. This added more depth to his character and more overall drama and tension to flow through the show. So, now that his love life is revealed more, we finally have the answer to whether Perry Mason was gay and who was his love interest.

Perry Mason is not gay. From the 1930s to this day, there have been many portrayals of his character; in any of them, Mason is not described as gay. His love life was always kept on the sidelines, with some speculations that Della might be his love interest, but that proved wrong. In HBO’s Perry Mason show, Perry Mason’s love interest is Ginny Aimes, a school teacher who gets involved romantically with Perry.

It is interesting and unusual at the same time that we knew so little about the private life of a character that was part of pop culture for so long as Mason did. That part of Mason’s life was always considered unimportant, and the main focus was on him solving cases. However, all that changed when the latest Perry Mason show aired in 2020. Further in the article, I will mention everything you need to know about Perry Mason’s love life, so feel free to read on to learn more about it.

Perry Mason wasn’t gay

When Erle Stanley Gardner created the character of Perry Mason, all he had in mind was to bring to life a legal expert and investigator who does everything he can to solve cases and defend the wrongfully accused. And he stuck with that idea throughout his novels and was only on rare occasions demonstrated that Perry has or even talks about his private life.

Even when some speculations did occur regarding his private life, it all revolved around Della Street, Mason’s loyal and intelligent assistant. They always shared great chemistry and were there for each other. Della understood Mason, and he respected her for it. However, even though their relationship was always full of respect, mutual admiration, and loyalty, they have never been romantically involved. It was one of those platonic relationships we all root for to happen, yet they never do. During all the years this duo has worked together in books, radio series, TV series, and movies, they were always close, but never ”you are the love of my life close.”

And if Mason’s fans hoped that would change in the newest Perry Mason show, they got another cold shower. Here I come to the point and answer the question above. No, Perry Mason is not gay; he wasn’t gay in any iteration of his character and is not gay in HBO’s Perry Mason show, either. However, the latest show shares more private parts of Mason’s life with the audience than ever. Perry is divorced and has a son, Teddy. He also becomes affectionate toward Teddy’s teacher, Ginny Aimes, and the two become romantically involved. But, more about that is a bit further in the article. Now I want to share with you why there were rumors that Perry Mason was gay.

The rumors regarding Mason’s homosexuality started when Raymond Burr portrayed Perry Mason. As fans always thought that some romantic scenes involving Mason would be a good idea to spice things up in the show, and later in the movies, that never happened. Raymond Burr was a closeted homosexual. He hid that fact to protect his career since he worked and lived at different times when being a homosexual was controversial. That was one of the main reasons Mason never shared a romantic scene with another woman. Burr was too uncomfortable to do that, and Gardner always imagined Mason’s private life to be unimportant, so it was no big deal.

However, the latest Perry Mason show changed everything, putting all the cards and controversies in the open. Perry Mason is confirmed in this show as straight, but they take a different approach regarding Della Street’s character, and she is presented as a lesbian. Now, let’s see what we know about Perry Mason’s love interest and who she is.

Perry Mason’s love interest

In the newest Perry Mason show, aired in 2020, Perry has had three women as his love interest. First, there is Linda, Perry’s ex-wife, and the mother of their son, Teddy. In season one, there is also Lupe, even though she is described as more of a hookup buddy for Mason, and they are both fine sharing that kind of relationship.

However, things got serious for Mason in season 2 when he met Ginny Aimes, a lovely schoolteacher, and we can now state that Mason is falling for her, but with all the problems that arose, their relationship hangs in the balance.

Ginny is a school teacher who teaches Perry’s son, Teddy. And that is how the two of them met. When Perry accepted to defend the Gallardo brothers, the whole town soon knew who he was, as he became the target of media scrutiny. However, Ginny does not care what anybody says about Perry, and she has shown kindness and protectiveness toward him since they met.

It took two accidental meetings between these two, and it was clear that there was something in the air and that they shared chemistry. Ginny is gentle, calm, and kind, almost everything Perry needs to balance his attitude, which is why they get along. Interestingly enough, Ginny was the one who made the first move, and the two of them spent the night together. After that, they started to spend time together, going to restaurants and sharing their private life information and Perry’s work-related problems.

And while Ginny genuinely seems to be a kind and good-hearted person, Perry has trust issues. That leads to confrontation when he accuses Ginny that she was the one who tipped off the DA’s office regarding the murder weapon being hidden in his safe. She assures Perry that she did not do it, be he storms out of her apartment in disbelief. We will see what will happen next, and hopefully, Perry will grasp that he made a mistake because he could use someone like Ginny in his life.