What were the hints that Willow was gay before season 4?
The only strong one was from season 3’s “Doppelgangland,” when Willow encounters her bisexual vampire self and comments “I’m all skanky and evil … and I think I’m kinda gay.” Buffy assures her that the vampire is nothing like the person it was (shushing Angel when he tries to correct her) and it’s never mentioned again until Willow comes out (although it was referenced in the seaosn 6 episode “Tabula Rasa,” when Willow lost her memory and repeated the “I think I’m kinda gay” line).