Watch Miss Universe Australia Come Out as Bisexual on Television

Maria Thattil, crowned Miss Universe Australia in 2020, has opened up about her sexuality on a recent episode of the British reality series I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

While she wasn't planning on opening up about her sexuality on the show, Thattil realized that hiding it was doing a disservice to her as well as viewers. She shared that she was bisexual in an emotional chat with campmate David Subritzky.

"I always buried that side of myself," she explained. "It was easier for people to understand me."

Thattil relief after sharing her truth. "It just feels bloody good to say it," she said in a confessional.

She spoke more about the moment with WHO. “I was on this show, talking about this charity and it didn’t feel right because I knew I wasn’t being honest with myself,” said Thattil.

The 28-year-old model kept her sexuality private for so long out of stigma and caution. “I grew up having crushes on girls in school and just completely invalidated it because of religion and also because there were many homophobic sentiments in my school around being a lesbian, around anything other than heteronormativity."

Thattil even says she was outed when she tried to start dating.

“I have dating apps and when I set my preferences to be both male and female, I got a message from a friend saying, ‘Someone just sent me a screenshot from your account and we think there is someone out there pretending to be you and catfishing people.’ Then I freaked out and changed it back to just being to men.”

She hopes her coming out now will increase awareness and understanding. “You don’t have a lot of bisexual visibility in popular culture and so you don’t understand what it is.”

Thattil is done letting fear hold her back. “I realized the reason I’ve been so f**king scared to do this is exactly why I need to. A lack of bisexual visibility for most of my life has meant that the experience was confusing and there were parallels to other experiences I had with social identity.”

She said she had a deep “fear of falling in between the cracks, never fully finding a place in myself. But when I spoke to Dom Thattil, he reminded me about why we call it PRIDE. No longer a secret to protect but a part of me to celebrate.”

Welcome to the family Maria!