Editing Paul Reubens (section)

==Personal life==
Reubens attended the 1988 [[60th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]] with ''Big Top Pee-wee'' co-star [[Valeria Golino]], which stirred rumors that the two were dating.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 17, 1988 |title=Love Finds Pee-wee Under the 'Big Top', he discovers romance |work=Chicago Sun-Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Masters |first=Kim |date=July 20, 1988 |title=Smooch Ado About Pee-wee |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/07/20/smooch-ado-about-pee-wee/ed702f39-8185-4d77-9552-9a9cbb135be1/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The following year Reubens exchanged vows with [[Doris Duke]]'s adopted daughter, Chandi Heffner, at a mock wedding over which [[Imelda Marcos]] presided, in [[Shangri La (Doris Duke)|Shangri-La]], Doris Duke's mansion in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]].<ref name="vanityfair" />

Reubens reportedly dated actress [[Debi Mazar]] in 1993 after he started attending film premieres with her.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Burkhart |first=Dan |date=May 6, 1994 |title=Odd couple |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20185771,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421210504/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20185771,00.html |archive-date=April 21, 2009 |access-date=October 14, 2008 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref> Reubens credited Mazar with ending his depression from his 1991 arrest.<ref>
{{cite magazine |title=Paul Reubens: Playboy Interview |url=http://www.playboy.com/articles/paul-reubens-playboy-interview/index.html?page=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100817014318/http://www.playboy.com/articles/paul-reubens-playboy-interview/index.html?page=2 |archive-date=August 17, 2010 |access-date=January 14, 2011 |magazine=[[Playboy]]}}</ref> According to Mazar, the relationship was never consummated.<ref>"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5gKztDIlW0 Debi Mazar Opens Up About Her Platonic Love Affair With Pee Wee Herman]".</ref>

In interviews conducted for ''[[Pee-wee as Himself]]'', a documentary which premiered after Reubens's death, Reubens acknowledged that he was [[gay]] and discussed his relationship with a painter named Guy whom he credited with inspiring some of Pee-wee Herman's mannerisms. After the relationship ended, Reubens visited Guy in the hospital hours before he died of an [[AIDS]]-related illness. Reubens chose to focus on his career rather than publicly talk about his sexuality during his lifetime, saying, "I was out of the closet, and then, I went back in the closet. I wasn't pursuing the Paul Reubens career; I was pursuing the Pee-wee Herman career. [...] I was secretive about my sexuality even to my friends [out of] self-hatred or self-preservation. I was conflicted about sexuality. But fame was way more complicated."<ref>{{Cite web |title='Pee-wee Herman' Star Paul Reubens Comes Out as Gay in Posthumous Documentary: 'Self Hatred or Self Preservation' |url=https://people.com/pee-wee-herman-star-paul-reubens-comes-out-as-gay-in-posthumous-documentary-8780400 |access-date=2025-01-25 |website=People.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Fear |first=David |date=2025-01-24 |title='Pee-wee as Himself' Would Like You to Meet the Man Behind the Bow Tie |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/pee-wee-as-himself-review-pee-wee-herman-documentary-1235239729/ |access-date=2025-01-25 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>

Reubens and his co-star [[Lynne Marie Stewart]] remained close platonic friends until the end of Reubens's life. They were active in the [[Make-a-Wish Foundation]] making appearances in character to bring joy to terminally ill children; neither Reubens nor Stewart ever married or had any children of their own.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Pee-wee's Playhouse' Alum Lynne Marie Stewart Recalls Meaningful Last Visit with Paul Reubens Before His Death (Exclusive) |url=https://people.com/pee-wees-playhouse-alum-lynne-marie-stewart-recalls-final-visit-paul-reubens-before-his-death-exclusive-8686146 |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=People.com |language=en}}</ref>