15 men who have come out as LGBTQ+ after starring on reality TV

As more reality TV shows are created that cater to a queer audience — like For the Love of DILFs and The Ultimatum: Queer Love — we are getting to see more and more people from the LGBTQ+ community grace our TV screens, but they are still too few and far between for our liking.

Luckily, this is starting to change. Not only are we getting more queer-centric shows, but every year, we are seeing an influx of men coming out either on reality TV or after they’ve left the show (check out our list of LGBTQ+ women who have come out after reality TV, too!).

From Norman Korpi coming out on the very first season of The Real World to ex-NFL player Colton Underwood coming out after looking for a wife on The Bachelor, these former and current reality TV stars have broken down barriers and given us more of the queer representation we’ve been craving!

Bret LaBelle (The Amazing Race, Survivor)

Bret LaBelle was a contestant on The Amazing Race before landing on the Millennials vs. Gen X season of Survivor, where he shocked everyone by coming out as gay during a conversation with fellow contestant Zeke Smith. The burly reality TV star is now happily dating TikTok star Chris Stanley (AKA StanChris), who first noticed LaBelle when he was binge-watching Survivor during quarantine. After that, the two men slid into each other's DMs and started dating despite the 27-year age gap.

"I had an internal struggle with myself with coming out and being gay for years," LaBelle told Entertainment Weekly. "When I mentioned it on the show, it was like a huge weight off my shoulders, and I found that it really helped me in my personal life going forward. The support I received from family, friends, and co-workers was amazing. I wish I had come out sooner."

Colton Underwood (The Bachelor)

Ex-NFL player Colton Underwood surprised fans when he came out as gay after starring in his failed attempt to find a wife on The Bachelor. Underwood spent years after his stint on the most heterosexual reality TV show of all time denying his sexuality when the press would ask him, but he finally came out in 2021 on an episode of Good Morning America.

Since then, Underwood starred in Coming Out Colton, a six-episode unscripted series from Netflix that followed him on his journey as a newly out gay man, with gay Olympic freesia Gus Kenworthy as his guide. He also started dating political strategist Jordan C. Brown in 2021, and the two ultimately tied the knot in May 2023.

Norman Korpi (The Real World)

The Real World was a groundbreaking show when it aired its inaugural season in 1992. Not only was it the first modern reality TV show, but it also didn't shy away from talking about homosexuality or HIV at a time when it was extremely controversial to do so. In the very first season of the show, Norman Korpi came out to his housemates and became one of the first openly gay men on television.

"I still have like, 25 boxes of these long, touching letters from people that didn't have a voice," he told People in 2021. "When they saw a group of seven people living together and that six of them loved and supported a gay person, forget me coming out. It was really that relationship of those people — the Beckys and Erics and the Julies — that the people could see themselves and say, 'Look, he's part of the cool kids, he's on the cool network. That's the coolest thing that you could be on, and that's me.'"

Clay Aiken (American Idol)

Clay Aiken hit it big when he was the runner-up on the second season of American Idol back in 2003, going on to become a multiplatinum recording artist and Broadway star. After years of his sexuality being scrutinized and theorized about in the tabloid press, Aiken finally came out on the cover of People magazine in 2008 because he had a son with his best friend Jaymes Foster through in vitro fertilization and didn’t want to have to hide anymore.

“It was the first decision I made as a father,” Aiken told People. “I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn’t raised that way, and I’m not going to raise a child to do that.” Since then, Aiken has gone on to be an outspoken advocate for gay rights and a passionate LGBTQ+ activist.

Matt Terry (The X-Factor)

The X-Factor season 13 winner Matt Terry came out earlier this year on March 22, 2024, after years of dealing with speculation about his sexuality from the notoriously ruthless Bristol tabloids. His announcement was timed with the release of his new single, “His Car,” which details his first relationship with a man who had to be kept a secret.

“I am so ready to show who I am with my music,” he said in an interview with the Gay Times. “Throughout the years, I’ve had media reach out and offer me money like, ‘We’ll give you this much if you want to talk about your sexuality,’ and I would say, ‘Absolutely not.’ I’m too proud and have too much self-respect. But now, I want to set the record straight with this song and video.”

Colin Grafton (Dancing on Ice)

After telling his close friends and family he was gay back in his 20s, Dancing on Ice and former Team USA figure skater Colin Grafton came out publicly earlier this year. On February 4, 2024, in an interview with Pink News, he explained, "If I'm honest, I never really felt the need to announce it before but the reason I am saying this now is because I want to show that there is representation in any way I can."

David Archuleta (American Idol)

"Crush" singer David Archuleta competed on American Idol when he was just 17 years old, but despite being a teenager, speculation about his sexuality flourished. It wasn't until 2021 that Archuleta publicly came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community in an Instagram post where he wrote in part, "I like to keep to myself but also thought this was important to share because I know so many other people from religious upbringings feel the same way. I've been open to myself and my close family for some years now that I am not sure about my own sexuality."

Archuleta came out to his family as gay in 2014, but it turns out his sexuality is more complicated than that. In the social media post, he also talked about being attracted to both genders but not having "much sexual desires and urges" and was open about how complicated his religious beliefs make understanding his sexuality.

Nicola Porcella (La Casa de los Famosa Mexico)

Former pro soccer player Nicola Porcella starred in La Casa de los Famosos México in 2023, which is the Mexican edition of Celebrity Big Brother. While competing on the show, Porcella revealed that he’s pansexual and found himself immediately welcomed into the fam by costars Apio Quijano (who is bisexual) and Wendy Guevara (who is trans).

Jordan Sangha (Big Brother UK)

Big Brother UK star Jordan Sangha came out as queer while competing on the 20th season of the beloved show, and went on to win the whole thing based on an audience vote. While on the show Sangha met his now-boyfriend Henry Southan. What started as a friendship led to on-air kisses and then the pair moved in together almost immediately after the competition ended, The Sun reports.

Grant Coulson (Geordie Shore)

Grant Coulson was known as a ladies' man on the hit MTV show Geordie Shore, so fans were shocked when he came out in 2023. Coulson explained that he felt he had to keep his sexuality a secret because the star feared it would ruin his chances on reality TV.

"I think now I just feel more comfortable with who I am," he told The Sun. "For years I hid the real me and now I am finally happy, I feel like everyone needs to know the real me. I feel like I have been hiding myself for such a long period of time, it just a bit of a weight lifted off my shoulders. I think I have known for years but more people are more open to it now. It's not the 1800s, no one's really bothered anymore."

Paulie Calafiore (Big Brother, The Challenge: USA)

Paulie Calafiore has competed on Big Brother and multiple seasons of The Challenge, including The Challenge USA 2, where he revealed that he’s bisexual. In 2023, while on the show, Calafiore opened up to his co-star Tori Deal. “I came through athletics, so that forced me to repress who I was, sexually,” he shared. “I didn’t know if I was attracted to women, attracted to men, or if it was just like an energy thing. I’d be like, ‘I need to prove that I’m the most alpha human in the world.’”

Later that same year, Calafiore confirmed that he identifies as bisexual during an interview with GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos. “I am bisexual,” he said. “I feel good about finally being able to talk about this.”

Curtis Hamilton (The Real Friends of WeHo)

Insecure actor Curtis Hamilton kept his sexuality a secret from his close friends and family and, instead, came out publicly by starring in the unapologetically queer MTV reality show The Real Friends of WeHo.

“I was super scared [to come out],” Hamilton said in an interview with TV Insider. “I hadn’t told people in close proximity in my life [about his sexuality]. One of my best friends found out on Twitter and was pissed. He just felt so bad that I didn’t tell him, but that’s just the life I’ve been living. For me to go on a reality show and open up to the world with something I’ve just been telling the people that know me the most about, it was really scary. But I just felt it was time. I’m still scared.”

Curtis Pritchard (Love is Blind UK)

Curtis Pritchard starred on the fifth season of Love Island UK, where he had a couple up with co-star Maura Higgins, but shortly after, he came out in an interview with The Sun where he revealed that he's fluid and said that he wouldn't rule out having a relationship with a man in the future. "I've been with women and I'm with a woman now," he told the publication. "You can never put a label on anything. It's a cliché to say, but love is blind. I can never ever say what will happen in the future. I wouldn't rule anything out."

Nicholas Birchall (Love Island USA)

Nicholas Birchall surprised fans when he left the villa voluntarily during the fourth season of Love Island USA. After his abrupt departure, he took to Instagram, where he came out publicly as bisexual. ”Even though the Villa didn’t ultimately end up feeling like the right place to say my truth, I still wanted to share it with y’all and take this weight off my shoulders,” he wrote. “Bisexual men don’t have very much representation on TV and after being home with my family, I realized I still want to be that role model and use my given platform to encourage inclusivity in media. I’m excited to be that guy for every person who has ever felt uncomfortable/unhappy with who they are."

David Barta (Ex on the Beach)

While starring in Paradise Hotel, David Barta presented as straight and dated costar Kendall Galan, but on the premier episode of the fifth season of MTV's Ex on the Beach, he came out as pansexual. "I think I'm here definitely to get to know myself better and accept myself more," Barta said during the episode. "A big thing that has been going on for me, behind closed doors, in the past year and a half or so, has been my sexuality." He went on to say that he's still trying to figure out his sexuality, "Talking to guys is still pretty new for me. I've been interested in men for years now, I just haven't been honest with myself."

Later he posted a statement about his sexuality on Instagram, sharing the definition of pansexual and writing, "Call it Pansexual, call it Bisexual, call it Sexually Fluid (my preference), or all of the above. It's me. Above all these titles, I'm just David. I'm still the same exact person, just a little more honest and open to what life has in store for me."