Out and proud. Over the years, many reality TV stars have opened up about living as their true selves as part of the LGBTQ community.
In April 2021, years after starring on The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise and The Bachelor, former NFL player Colton Underwood revealed he is gay.
“I’ve ran from myself for a long time, I’ve hated myself for a long time. I’m gay. I came to terms with that earlier this year, and the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know.” he said on Good Morning America at the time. “I’m the happiest and healthiest I’ve ever been in my life. That means the world to me.”
Underwood added that he was in love with his ex Cassie Randolph, whom he met while filming in 2018 and dated until May 2020.
“That only made it harder and more confusing for me. I loved everything about her, and it’s hard for me to articulate exactly what my emotions were in going through that relationship with her because I obviously had an internal fight going on. I would just say that I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart,” the First Time author told Robin Roberts at the time. “I’m sorry for any pain and emotional stress I caused. I wish that it wouldn’t have happened the way that it did. I wish that I had been courageous enough to fix myself before I broke anybody else.”
Underwood is one of many reality TV stars who have opened up about their sexuality. Karamo Brown, best known for being one of the experts on Netflix’s Queer Eye, first appeared on The Real World: Philadelphia in 2004, becoming the first openly gay black man on reality TV.
“I was just comfortable enough in myself then, and still to this day, just to be honest about who I am and just live my life freely. I was just fresh out of college and was like, ‘Go on The Real World? Yeah, sure,” he told Euphoria magazine in 2020, adding that he didn’t realize he was making history until the season ended. “I was like, ‘Really? I thought that happened 40 million years ago!’ And it just shows why representation is so important because there are still so many groups that have never been seen on television.”
For more reality TV stars who have embraced coming out, watch the video above!
